Unexpected Allies
by jaded79
Summary: What if Sophia wasn't in that barn? What if the group never found her before leaving the farm? What if instead Sophia happened upon a very unlikely ally, Merle Dixon, and the two had no choice but to rely upon eachother as they searched for the group.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – I'm a huge Daryl and Carol fan but I have this idea for a story that's outside of that realm and is a little different. This is that story and I'm challenging myself to do it justice. I hope you like it! Please read and review! **

**Imagine a Walking Dead where Sophia wasn't in the barn. Imagine all that time on the farm and they never found her. For the purpose of this story, Sophia wasn't in the barn when Shane broke down the doors. Everything else on the farm will probably still happen how it happened but we aren't there yet. Dale will be gone, Shane will be gone, and the herd will have created enough chaos that the group abandons the farm like they did on the show and their search for Sophia. For all intents and purposes, they all (Carol and Daryl included) will probably have assumed that there was no way she could have made it. She's only 12. But what if she did make it… what if she made it and she met up with someone who helped her to survive along the way. There might be flashes of the rest of the group in here while we learn Sophia's story, and hopefully a reunion at some point. **

**This story should be kept fairly clean as far as sex stuff since Sophia is obviously only 12, so I'm rating it T, but keep in mind there will be swearing and derogatory stuff in some chapters and definite angst and horror. **

**Disclaimers – I own nothing. I may create some OC's at some point but if you recognize a name or a place, I don't own it or take any credit for it. I also apologize if any part of this story becomes or is unrealistic in any way. I'm making it up as I go along – locations, dialects, character backgrounds and personalities. I will try to make up for unrealism with consistency as I go. **

* * *

Chapter 1

Sophia felt like she'd been running for days. She had no idea where she was. The woods surrounding her appeared identical everywhere she looked and she had no idea how far she'd traveled from the highway. She was sniffling as she shuffled along. She kept telling herself not to cry. That it was stupid to cry. She was too old for crying over being lost. She was twelve – practically a teenager.

She had tried to retrace her steps. When Rick left her hiding by the stream, she had tried to retrace her steps back to the highway, back to her mother, and back to the group. But she must have gotten turned around. Because suddenly she just seemed deeper in the woods, further from the highway, and everything was darkening and scary around her. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, and to listen. She could hear birds. She could hear the wind. But she couldn't hear anyone calling for her. She was certain they would be looking for her. She couldn't have strayed that far away… could she have?

_Maybe they left me. Maybe my mom decided she was better off and they just packed up and left. _The invading thought almost made her laugh. That was ridiculous. Her mom would never leave her. In fact, Sophia was fairly certain that her mom was going to be pissed at Rick that they'd ended up separated. Not that it was Rick's fault. He had to leave her behind to lure the danger away. She hoped Rick was okay. There were two of them and only one of him but he seemed pretty capable. Much more capable than her at least.

Sophia was so mad at herself for crawling out from under that car when she did. She should have waited. She knew she should have waited. But her mom had been right there… just one car over. And she had needed her mom. Twelve years old and she still wanted her mommy. She wasn't proud of it, and it probably meant she was still just a great big baby… but still. The world's falling apart, reanimated dead people are out there trying to eat you… of course, a girl is going to want her mommy.

Sophia sighed. And here she was now. In the middle of nowhere, out of breath and dirty, running through the woods, probably putting more and more distance between her and the group. She thought about the books she'd read, and the movies she'd seen. They always said when you were lost to stay in one place so someone could find you. But what if no one was looking? What if another herd had gone past and they were all dead. What if she was all that was left?

Now the tears were at the brim of Sophia's eyelids. There was no way she was going to hold them back. She was alone. She was alone and had no idea what to do or where she should go. She was as good as dead too.

She kept moving though. Pressing forward through the dense woods. It was growing darker outside and she figured it must be well past dinnertime the way her stomach was growling. She pushed through a bush and stepped out into an open area. _Water! _She was back at the stream… or maybe a different stream, she wasn't sure. She moved out into the open area, across the wet, sandy muck to the water in the center. She kneeled down to drink. She could practically hear her mother yelling about not drinking unsanitized water. But what choice did she have at this point. She had no matches to start a fire for boiling, and even if she did – what exactly was she going to use to boil the water? Her hopes and dreams?

So she drank. She drank and drank until her belly felt expanded and full, even though it was just a way of fooling her stomach to stop its growling. _Quit its bellyaching. _She started to giggle at the thought. Bellyaching – that sounded like something she had heard Daryl Dixon say. She had never really understood what that term meant, but she didn't think it was supposed to be literal. Her belly did ache though. The water wasn't going to make her any less hungry, but at least she could pretend her stomach was full until it remembered it wasn't.

A sound in the woods on the other side of the stream alerted her. She noticed how quiet it suddenly was. No chirping. That couldn't be a good sign. She stood up abruptly. There was still some light in the clearing where she stood, but the woods were dark and ominous around her. Sophia felt spooked. She wasn't safe here. Her hair stood on end as she waited, her gaze fixed on the area that had rustled. Her body was poised to run at the slightest provocation. She heard a low growling that wasn't from her stomach and the leaves started to sway violently. She turned and ran, having no idea if she was running back where she had just come from or in an entirely different direction altogether. She just ran. Her legs moving quickly in the dark, her thighs screaming that she should stop and a cramp in her side from all the water she'd drank threatened her pace, but she hastened her step and kept moving. She hadn't seen what it was in that bush, but she needed to get as far away from it as possible.

As quickly as she started running, she was forced into a stop as the cramp in her side increased and made her double over in pain. She clutched her side and panted. She didn't know how far she had gotten but there were birds chirping here again. Crickets even. She breathed heavily and her heart raced. It was then she realized she had left her doll. She had put the doll down to drink from the stream and, in her panic, had forgotten to pick it back up.

Sophia sobbed inwardly at the loss of the doll, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry. This wasn't the time to act like a baby, to cry over the loss of her favorite childhood friend. It was kind of pathetic to have a doll for a friend anyway, at her age. But still, she felt the loss of that doll like she would have felt the loss of a brother or a sister or a pet. She could still remember the day her mother gave it to her.

It was after a particularly bad night with daddy. A night where Sophia had hid under the bed while she listened to the sounds of her daddy and her mother in the other room. A night with shouting and screaming and punching and kicking. It hadn't been the first night she'd heard it happen, and she probably should have been used to it by that point. But she was only five at the time, and there really isn't a decent way for a five year old to get used to something like that. That was the night he'd come in the room afterward and burnt her leg with his cigarette. She hadn't realized she wasn't fully concealed under the bed, until she had seen his legs in the room, and then felt the hot sear on her skin, the sizzle of burning flesh. She had yelped and pulled her unconcealed leg under the bed, curling up in a ball and hugging her knees to her chest while the wounded leg twitched and seared in pain. Daddy had just laughed loudly and viciously, and said something about it serving her right.

The next day her mommy had given her the doll. And Sophia had loved it ever since. Her mom had said that the doll would protect her. That when she was scared or upset, the doll would be there and she could talk to it and hug it until the danger passed. Of course, at five, she had believed her mom then. Since then, Sophia had obviously learned that a doll couldn't protect her. That a doll couldn't stop the beatings when her daddy got angry with her or her mom.

But the doll was always there, and it had always sort of comforted her even without it being able to actually protect her. Her mom protected her as best she could, she tried to take the beatings meant for Sophia, but even she was probably more comfort after the fact than protection during. What Ed wanted to hit, Ed got to hit – whether you want it or not. Far as he was concerned, they – Sophia and her mom – were always asking to get hit. Not long before the world went crazy with living dead people, Sophia had stopped thinking of him so much as Daddy, and had starting thinking of him as just plain mean old Ed. Ed the ass. Not that she ever told her mother that. Her mother would never have approved of her using the word 'ass' to describe anyone. Even Ed. Her mother wasn't like that. Her mother was better than that.

Sophia never swore out loud… just in her head. She'd called Ed lots of names in her head when he struck her. She'd imagined doing all sorts of mean things to Ed in her head. And she was glad when the dead people took him down. She would never cry over that mean old ass. Her daddy had been dead to her for a long time before he actually died.

Some people in the group had gotten to calling the dead people that took down her daddy and Amy and the others, 'walkers', and some others called them 'geeks', although she'd always thought that a geek was a nerd, which meant a really smart, but un-cool person, so she didn't get the connection there. She never actually met a real geek or nerd before because she always thought everyone she met was pretty cool. Cooler than her, at least. She kind of thought the dead people were zombies because that's what books and movies usually called the living dead people that showed up and tried to eat people's brains and stuff.

When the cramp in her side subsided, Sophia started walking again. She still had no idea where she was going, but she figured if she kept walking sooner or later something had to look familiar. She didn't know how far the woods kept going, but they had to stop somewhere… she hoped. If she could find a road, maybe she could follow it back to the highway, back to the others, back to her mother. It was really dark now, but she kept going. She was getting tired and her legs protested some, but she knew she had to keep going. If she fell asleep out here, all alone in the dark, something bad might find her. Movement was all she had right now to keep her safe.

She thought she heard something not far away through the woods to her right… like gravel crunching beneath tires. _A car!_ She started to run again, moving quickly through the woods, swatting the low branches away from her as she moved. She burst out onto the pavement, directly into the path of oncoming headlights. She froze in the light, scared to death and unable to move, and the only thought she could think was – _they'll stop, they have to stop… it's me they're looking for… right?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – If anyone knows for sure which hand Merle cut off, please forgive me if I am incorrect. I feel like it's his right and I looked it up online and saw some pictures but TV magic sometimes changes stuff. I also want to clarify as you read this story that you shouldn't expect Merle to be an entirely changed and wonderful person. I'm planning to give him layers but he's still definitely a jerk. I've always believed that there are good people, bad people, and sort of in the middle people, in the world. Merle's sort of bad and not-so-bad all rolled into one. He's still the type of racist jerk-off to kick a puppy (I'm sorry puppy!) and he's a druggie who's been to jail and done some crazy bad shit, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have layers and potential. Last comment – I plan to have Merle and Sophia reunite with the group – Carol and Daryl especially – at some point but don't expect it to be easy or to be quick. **

**Hope you like this chapter! Please review! And thank you to those of you who reviewed the first chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 2

The shrill sound of tires screeching sliced through the air and the car stopped inches from her small body. Sophia hadn't realized she was shaking and sobbing until then. Her whole body shook and she could feel herself gasping for air as she sobbed. This was not fitting behavior for a girl of twelve. A girl on the cusp of teenager-hood, just six years until she was an adult. She chastised herself internally and tried to maintain control. To be fair, she was almost just hit by a car. Her father's fist had nothing on a full-blown motor vehicle.

A door slammed and she heard an angry voice yell out of the darkness next to the car, "Wha' the fuckin flying fuck is ya doin' runnin' ya dumbass out in the fuckin' road!"

A man she dimly recognized stepped out into the lighted darkness created by the headlights and leered at her angrily. She knew he was familiar. She had definitely seen him before. That angry smirk, the stubble on his face, his narrowed, irate eyes glaring. And then she saw the blackened, burnt stump at the end of his right arm, where his hand should have been, and she knew who he was. _Merle Dixon._ _Daryl's missing brother. _

Merle stepped closer and sneered at her. "I as'ed ya a fuckin' question, girl… Hey, ain't I seen ya somewhere's before?" He leaned down towards her and Sophia resisted the urge to flinch or step back. She could see the spittle forming in the corners of his mouth. His eyes went all squinty as he looked at her, trying to make the connection, and then he said, "yea, yea I has seen ya before… yer that fat fuck's lil' girl… that fat fuck and that skinny ass beatin' post of a wife he had… ya was with them back at the motherfuckin' camp outside Atlanta… ya seen my punk ass brother, has ya? I'm-a lookin' for 'is dumbass." He leaned closer in as he spoke and Sophia could smell his foul breath as he spoke.

"I got lost," she said. They were the first words to pop out and she could have smacked herself for how stupid they sounded.

Merle stood straight up again and shook his head, "no fuckin' shit, dummy… they 'round 'ere somewhere?"

Sophia shrugged helplessly, "I don't know."

Merle made a nasty face and turned away from her, moving back to get in the car. He opened the door and faced her again before he got in. "Well git yer ass outta my way, else I'll drive over ya," he jeered nastily.

"You can't leave me here!," Sophia said with a burst of anger that she hadn't expected as she put her hands on her hips.

"Why the fuck not?" Merle glared and raised an eyebrow at her.

"If you leave me here, you're leaving me to die, you know."

Merle smiled at that, "Like I give two shits bout that." Merle raised his hand and stump in a defensive motion and continued, "Not my fuckin' problem, lil' girl."

Sophia gaped at him, then narrowed her eyes angrily to glare right back at the man. She jutted her jaw and gritted her teeth, and promptly marched herself over to the passenger side door of the car and got inside. Merle stood outside of the vehicle still and crouched to peer inside at where she was now seated, a puzzled expression on his face.

"The fuck ya think yer doin'?," he scoffed, but his tone was half-hearted.

"I'm coming whether your stupid smelly ass likes it or not. So deal with it," she snapped loudly in response, crossed her arms in front of her and turned away from him to look out the passenger window. Sophia had no idea where her resolve had come from, and she had no idea if this was a good idea or a bad one. She was probably no safer with the likes of Merle Dixon than she was outside in the woods by herself. But she didn't want to be alone out here. She wanted to be back with her mom and Carl and the rest of the group. Fact was though, she wasn't sure she'd ever find them. She had no idea where they were, how far she had strayed from where they last were, or if they were even still alive and out there looking for her. But she knew she couldn't look for them on her own. Not if she wanted to stay alive.

The door slammed beside her and she looked out the windshield at Merle Dixon pacing up the side of the car. The man was talking to himself but she couldn't hear what he said. He seemed angry, rubbed his only hand up the side of his face and over the close-cropped hair on his head. Then he swore loud enough that she could hear it, and kicked at a pebble or something on the road. He spun back toward the car and glared at her through the windshield. She turned away and she heard him stomp back to the driver's side door. He swung the door open violently, clamored inside, and slammed the door closed with a bang.

She refused to look at him directly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him awkwardly reach under and around the steering wheel with his left arm to turn the key sitting in the ignition, and then shift the car into drive just as awkwardly with the automatic shifter in the middle of the console. Then she was jerked back in the seat as he revved the car forward too fast, his left hand resting on the top of the steering wheel, his right arm with the stump resting on the seat beside her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N – Thank you so much for the reviews! I will try to get the next chapter done for tomorrow, but (since it is Grey's Anatomy night) I may not get a chance to work on it. I'll get it done and posted as soon as I can though! **

* * *

Chapter 3

Sophia was trying hard not to fidget on the seat. The car was clearly old and rickety. It had bench seats so when Merle took a corner too fast, Sophia had to hold on to the door handle to ensure she didn't slide across the seat and bump into Merle. She didn't think he'd take too kindly to something like that.

The radio didn't work either. Or if it did, Merle hadn't turned it on at least. Sophia debated internally about what he might do if she reached over and turned the knob. _Probably not a good idea. _

He didn't seem to say much. The quiet was a little disconcerting. She hoped that maybe they would stumble upon the part of the highway where her mom and the others were, but it didn't seem likely. The road in front of them was completely deserted. She remembered that the highway where the others were was cluttered with abandoned vehicles.

Sophia hadn't realized how exhausted she was until she sat down and the car started moving. The roads they drove on were all flat and smooth and the only sound was the hum of the tires against the pavement. The sound lulled her, relaxed her whole body. She'd feel herself start to drift off and her eyelids would get heavy… then she'd jerk herself awake and remind herself that she didn't really know Merle Dixon and she really needed to be awake and alert right now.

* * *

Merle could almost ignore the tiny child beside him. At least she was quiet and didn't move around too much. He'd been driving almost eighteen hours straight. Not that he hadn't done it before, but he usually had some uppers to keep him going when he did it in the past. He couldn't remember the last time he had a good high, or a good buzz even for that matter. _Damn 'pocalypse… shit really ruins a good time. _

He really didn't have a plan. Had no idea where he was headed. He'd like to find Daryl. Partly because they were blood, and partly because he wanted to know where the fuck his brother was when his ass got fucking handcuffed to a rooftop. Of course, he knew where Daryl was. Daryl had been hunting. His younger son of a bitch brother had been off providing for those fucking piece of shit strangers that left him for dead. What Daryl should have been doing though was helping Merle score some drugs in Atlanta. _Damn Daryl. Thinks he's all high an' fuckin' mighty cause his ass don't need-ta git high._

But Daryl wouldn't go. When Merle had said why he was going with the others into Atlanta, Daryl had said that now wasn't the time to get high. That now was the time to think clear and straight and be prepared. _Fuck that._ And look where not being high got Merle – it got him chained by some asshole cop-with-a-superiority-complex on a rooftop surrounded by geeks, and then it got him off that rooftop minus his fucking hand and all alone in a deserted city full of dead fuckers walking around.

Actually, he thought, the last score he found was right before he saw that truck outside the city – parked there like it was waiting for someone to come back to it. He couldn't remember what he'd taken but it had done the trick. Higher than a kite. And then of course, once Merle was on the road again, he couldn't remember who his own brother was let alone figure out which way to go to get back to him.

Merle always figured he thought straighter when he was high. He felt stronger, felt better, felt more in control when his head was in the clouds than when it wasn't. If he was high there was no way he'd have let this fucking brat invade his car. Hell, he probably would have just run her over the first time. Would have served the little shit right. What kind of world is this when little girls just run out of the woods into the road without looking? _Fuckin' people. _

He was jostled out of his thoughts as he turned a sharp corner and the girl sitting beside him slid across the seat suddenly, her slight body colliding with his side. The fabric of her shirt hitting his stump grated on the raw wound. "Sonvabitch!," Merle shouted and pushed the sleepy child back over and away from him.

* * *

Sophia hadn't meant to fall asleep, but then somehow her head had fallen forward and she'd drifted off, and her hand must have lost its grip on the door handle. So when he turned the car, her body was propelled over and across the seat and right into the bony hard body of Merle Dixon. She startled awake at his voice, "Sonvabitch!"

She scooted back at the same time that he pushed her away and across the seat. Her elbow banged hard into the passenger side door. She rubbed it and looked at him. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"Keep yer scrawny dumb ass over there an' away from me," Merle sneered angrily and turned his attention back to the road. He moved his right arm up as if he was going to rub the sleep out of his eyes and then seemed to realize he couldn't… that there wasn't a hand there anymore. His stump wound still seemed pretty grisly from the looks of it and Sophia wondered how it could possibly not be infected. She didn't imagine Merle bathed much, although to his credit he mostly just smelled like dirt.

Merle huffed a breath and muttered, more to himself than to her, "Guess I better pull it over an' call it a night." There was a small clearing in the woods up ahead off the side of the road, and Merle switched the lights off and pulled in the clearing a bit. He carefully maneuvered the car over some small bushes at the road side and then through some smaller branches so that the dark car might seem concealed in the night. If someone happened to drive by, they might not even notice that a car was parked there, and if they did… they'd probably assume it had crashed there and was long abandoned by now.

The car came to a complete halt and Merle first went to move his right arm again, and then he sighed irritably and twisted to get his left arm and hand across his body to put the shifter into park. Sophia's hand shot out first… she pressed the button on the shifter and pushed it into the park position with a click.

"Hrmph…," Merle grunted something unintelligible.

"You're welcome," Sophia said pointedly.

Merle glanced at her, his eyes glinted in the darkness and she could feel his glare burning through her. _If looks could kill, I'd be dead right now_. She opened her mouth and stammered, "I just mean… you know… you say, thank you… then I say, you're welcome… it's like a thing... or something… I think my mom called it manners."Sophia had a feeling she wasn't helping her cause here very much.

Merle snorted derisively. "I'm-a gonn' hit the snooze for a bit… feel free to scamper yer fuckin' smart ass off into the woods an' get eaten before I's wake up. A'right then,… uh… uh," Merle searched for something to call her. He realized belatedly that he didn't know her name.

"Sophia," she supplied, "I'm Sophia, Sophia Peletier."

Merle snarled, "I don't give a shit. Yer a fuckin' pain in my ass is what ya is." And with that Merle slumped down a bit in the seat, leaned his head against the side of the car, and closed his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – I am really enjoying Merle and Sophia and I hope you are too. Merle's conflicted on so many levels so it's fun to write that struggle. Here's a brief update before the weekend. I'm going to a ball game this weekend a few states away so it'll be an all day "no computer access" affair on Saturday. So if I can't update again before tomorrow, I'll try for Sunday. :) Please read and review! Hope you like. **

* * *

Chapter 4

Merle woke briefly sometime in the twilight hours. There was an unseasonable chill in the air. He crossed his arms and rubbed his hand up and down his right arm absently to create some friction, some warmth. He glanced over at the sleeping girl next to him. Sophia had managed to curl up in the seat a bit. Her legs and feet were tucked underneath her, and her head rested gingerly on the door panel.

Soft snoring sounds came out of Sophia's mouth. Merle sat up a little straighter in the seat and leaned over to peer at the girl. Her tiny mouth had popped open as she slept and her breath exhaled in puffs, visible in the chilly air. Her arms were clenching her sides and her body shivered slightly as she slept. She was clearly cold.

Merle couldn't recall what month it was, but he was pretty sure it shouldn't be this cold in the evenings yet. It was hard to gauge how much time had passed since the world went to shit.

He wriggled in the seat cautiously, he didn't want to wake the girl, and turned to reach with his hand into the back seat. There was an old leather jacket that he had picked up in a town when he'd first left Atlanta. It reminded him of a jacket he'd had once. It even smelled the same… musty with an intermingling of tobacco, booze, and just a haze of bodily fluids.

He carefully maneuvered himself to drape the jacket over the girl without waking her. He watched as she unconsciously snuggled herself into the makeshift blanket, pulling her body inward even more until all he could see was the top of her head poking out of the brown leather.

Watching Sophia sleep, Merle could remember a time long ago. When his Ma was still alive and he was just barely the girl's age. He remembered late evenings while Pa was out getting drunk and ass, and Daryl was too little to stay awake. It was just him and Ma on those nights, snuggled up on the couch watching documentaries and national geographic shit on the tiny black and white television. He remembered how he'd always fall asleep before the show was over, and she'd drape a blanket over him to keep him warm. "Keepin' the ghosts away," she called it. Ma had always equated the cold with ghosts, so if she kept the cold away, she'd keep the ghosts away; and if she kept the ghosts away, her boys would have sweet dreams. And then she'd kiss his cheek… she always smelled clean, like dish soap, and her lips were always warm and soft on his cheek before she pulled away and turned back to her show. Merle imagined he'd had sweet dreams while Ma was around, but he couldn't really remember anymore.

It was easier to remember after Ma, after she'd died, and it was just him and Daryl and Pa. And Pa's habits. And Pa's temper. And Pa's fists. But he didn't like to remember that.

He glanced away from Sophia, and stared out the window at the brightening sky in the distance. It would be morning soon, and time to head off. And he'd have to figure something out. Have to make a decision about this tiny bit of a girl on the other side of the seat. He'd done fine on his own so far… now, and hell, practically his whole life. Merle had been alone and on his own more often than he could figure. Except for having Daryl around. He'd raised his brother up the only way he knew how – Pa's way. But even then, Merle had been in and out of the can – jail, prison, hard time – almost as much as he'd been in and out of Daryl's life. He'd wanted to change that, intended to change that after the world went to hell and it was just the two of them. The Dixon brothers against the world. But somehow something always got in the way of Merle's intentions. Drugs, cops with cuffs on rooftops, more drugs, and Merle. Merle always got in his own way.

He had always kept to himself, kept himself walled up and away from others. Merle did better on his own, he knew that. Not that he'd never needed companionship, and a tight ass sometimes to relieve some tension, but there were ways of getting that without letting down the walls, without sticking around long enough for people to get attached.

He couldn't let this girl stick around. She'd slow him down. There was danger written all over her. So he'd drive her away… get her to leave on her own. Merle had a lifetime of practice in driving people away. Or he'd help her… get her to her family again and be done with it. Find her family, dump her off; grab Daryl and beat feet out of this fuckin hellhole.

The girl on the seat stirred, whimpered quietly. Merle's heart constricted at the sound. He looked at her again, tried to force himself to glower at her and not to gaze. Dixons don't gaze, Dixons glower. In his head, he told himself he had to get rid of her, that it was best that way. She'd be better off on her own, finding her family herself. She wasn't his problem anyway. He could find Daryl or not find Daryl and he'd be fine either way. But somehow he couldn't quite connect the idea of dumping this girl somewhere with the other feelings he felt deep inside; feelings, not thoughts in his head, but feelings maybe somewhere else… in his heart, if he still had one. He couldn't quite get a handle on them, these thoughts and these feelings, and he couldn't quite force himself to figure out a way to do whatever it was he needed to do.

He settled back again into the seat, figuring a few more hours of rest wouldn't hurt before he made any decision one way or the other.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N – Sorry it took so long to update this! Hope you like this chapter. Thank you to SOA loving mom, Spikesslayer8, deelove1, and Lily for reviewing and to everyone else for taking the time to read! Hope you all have a great day!**

* * *

Chapter 5

In the morning the car wouldn't start. Sophia woke to hear Merle swearing viciously as he tried to turn the engine over. She noticed a jacket covering her that hadn't been there the night before, and peeked out from it to watch Merle.

"Sonovafuckinbitch… stupid piece a shit car… fuckin fuck ya up, stupid fuckin thing," Merle muttered as he cranked the key again, and then angrily pounded his fist into the steering wheel when the car wouldn't start.

Sophia sat up cautiously and he glared at her as if she had intruded on a private moment.

"Yer fuckin bad luck, kid," he spat.

Sophia looked wide-eyed at him, and shrugged noncommittally. "I'm sorry?"

Merle huffed loudly and growled low in the back of his throat before throwing his door open and clamoring out. He moved two steps into the woods before calling back, "Ya fuckin comin' or what?"

Sophia didn't have to be asked twice. Ignoring the door beside her, she slid across the seat and exited the open driver's side door. She followed a few yards into the woods before she asked, "where are we going? Why are you leaving your stuff?"

Merle breathed loudly, glanced at her quickly and then kept his focus in front of him as he moved easily through the woods. "Stuff's not goin' nowhere, I can get it after…"

"Where are we going then?"

Merle stopped suddenly and spun to face her. He growled out, "ya ask too many fuckin questions, lil' girl."

His abrupt movements startled Sophia and she staggered back when he got in her face, nearly pitching herself flat on her back in the process. His hand reached out and he grabbed her arm, steadying her before she fell. She flinched when he reached out. A look she couldn't quite recognize flittered across his face and he dropped her as fast as he'd grabbed her, spun around again and moved briskly through the trees.

"Wasn't gonna fuckin' hit ya," Merle muttered underneath his breath as he pushed faster into the woods and away from her with a purpose. Sophia stood for a moment in shock and then rushed to catch up. She hurried beside him, her legs moving faster than normal to keep pace, causing her to stumble a little as she moved. He seemed to notice because he slowed his pace considerably letting her fall into an easy step beside him.

She wanted to ask where they were going again, but thought better of it. Merle seemed to know exactly where they were going so she settled on being comfortable with that at least.

They reached a creek bed fairly quickly and Sophia looked around to see if she recognized it. It didn't look anything at all like the brook she'd been by the day before. She wondered if they were even close to where she'd first gotten lost. It certainly didn't seem like it.

Merle glanced at her under narrowed eyes and said, "Ya can wash up 'ere." He motioned at the creek, and then moved swiftly into the woods and around a bend in the creek to a spot where she couldn't see him anymore, and he couldn't see her either. She realized he probably meant to wash up himself and needed just as much privacy as she did.

It didn't take long. Sophia did her business and washed up as best she could in the creek, keeping her dirty clothes on, but trying to wash whatever skin she could reach. She dunked her head down into the mucky water in an attempt to wet her hair.

Movement in the brush ahead caught her attention… "Merle?," she whispered. A decaying body moved out of the woods toward her. The spindly rotten legs moving faster than she could have even thought possible. She scrambled back quickly, and fell onto her bottom, scooting herself backward on all fours, crab-like, trying to get away up the creek bed. The walker advanced anyway, not slowed by the water sloshing at his feet as he moved through the creek, almost upon her before a knife imbedded itself into its skull, knocking the threat backward as the walker splashed down into the shallow water.

Sophia looked back to see Merle standing there between two trees. "Could-a yelled for help, dumbass," he chided, moving forward to where the walker lay to retrieve his knife.

Sophia pulled herself up off the ground, her backside was wet and muddy but there wasn't much she could do about it. Merle faced her and she opened her mouth to speak, but the words froze there. _Thank you_, she thought. She noticed that his shirt was buttoned wrong. He must have taken it off and had trouble getting it back on with just one hand. She moved forward to grasp the bottom of his shirt, intent on fixing it, and Merle furrowed his brow in confusion and backed up, nearly tripping over the fallen walker.

"The fuck ya doin'…"

Sophia looked helplessly at him, fatigue hitting her despite having slept for a few hours the night before. This new world was exhausting. Merle Dixon was kind of exhausting. "Let me fix it," she said simply, moving forward.

He looked down at her uneasily as she touched the flannel shirt. "Is fine," he grumbled.

She was too short to reach the upper buttons, where the shirt was clearly all messed up and she looked up at him expectantly. "Let me fix it," she repeated and surprisingly Merle crouched down in front of her so she could reach.

He watched her as she unbuttoned the flannel shirt and rebuttoned it correctly, her fingers moving deftly in a way that he envied. He looked at her tiny hands and wished he could go back to a time when he had two hands, when things like buttoning a shirt were second nature and took just moments. Everything he did these days seemed to take hours.

When Sophia had fixed the buttons, and smoothed the shirt with her hands, she stepped back and looked at him as he stood up, towering over her slight frame once again. His face still wore that same grumpy, bitter expression.

"You're welcome," she said softly, her eyes intent on his.

Merle grumbled a response she couldn't hear, but she saw the small smirk on his face as he turned away from her and moved briskly back from where they had come from. She watched him go a moment before he called back to her, "get up 'ere now, ain't got all fuckin' day… 'nless ya wanna play with fuckin' geeks 'nstead of gettin' some grub." Sophia's stomach growled in response and she hurried up the creek bed after him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – Hi everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm so glad people are liking this story so far. Sorry it took me so long to get an update up, but here it is. :) Hope you like!**

* * *

Chapter 6

The nearest town felt like miles away. Sophia trudged along behind Merle. She'd try to stay in step for a while but he had a long stride and her short legs were no match for it. So finally, after nearly exhausting herself, she settled for staying a length or two behind. He seemed aware of her though, and despite his gruffness, he kept glancing back every few moments to make sure she was still there.

Finally, they hit upon a town. Merle dispatched two stray walkers, and they entered a deserted convenience store. Merle kept the ratted pack he'd retrieved from the broken down car over his shoulder, and grabbed two new bags from the store. He handed one to Sophia and kept the other for himself.

Merle crouched down low and stuck his finger in her face. "Only the 'ssentials, lil' girl. None-a this toy 'r game bullshit. We's gotta survive an' this ain't the time to play shoppin' spree." His voice was a low growl.

Sophia nodded quickly. And she hurried off to load up before he hollered at her.

"Don' be runnin' off neither… ya gotta stay where I can see 'nless ya wanna get left."

Sophia sighed, feeling like trying to please Merle Dixon was a losing battle. But she turned and headed down the closest aisle.

* * *

Merle felt antsy and riled up working alongside the girl to pack up supplies. She somehow had managed to really get under his skin. Like a splinter. Or a tick. He couldn't understand how someone so little and unassuming could manage to work him over and make him do whatever she wanted.

He'd let her stay. He wondered if he had ever actually had any other option. When that walker had been right on her, about to bite her… he could have let it go there. He could have just let her get bit and left her then. But he couldn't. He'd had the chance, and then he'd thrown the knife – almost subconsciously. He'd taken down the walker, and taken down his only chance of ever being free of this little gnat that just wouldn't go away on her own.

He glanced at Sophia working hard to fill her bag with food supplies. She packed peanut butter, and canned fruit, raisins, a can opener, canned tuna, canned chicken… she worked tirelessly rifling through the supplies, only taking what seemed absolutely necessary.

He watched her pause at the end of her aisle, in front of the candy. He saw her hand hover over a candy bar, pausing. He strained to see which one – a Snickers. She put her hand down, touched the wrapper on the candy bar, before tightening her lips in a thin line of restraint and snatching her hand back empty.

She stepped away from the candy and left the aisle to head down the next. Merle moved forward in her wake, grabbed the Snickers bar and shoved it in his pocket.

* * *

Sophia's stomach growled and complained as she worked. She tried to distract herself by humming to herself. She hummed some Hannah Montana songs that she could remember, and then some oldies that her mom used to like to listen to, and she finished with Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

It was then that Merle approached. "Take a break, kid," he said taking a seat on the floor against the wall, keeping the entrance to the store in sight.

Sophia sat down next to him. Merle opened his pack and took out a box of Pop-Tarts. He gave her one package and took one for himself.

"So what'd you do?," she said after taking a bite.

"Wha'?"

"To get left behind… in Atlanta."

"Fuck, kid. Can't I get a moment of fuckin peace from ya?," Merle grumbled. Sophia shrugged, made a face that was something like a pout, and looked down. Merle sighed. He couldn't understand why he suddenly felt like shit for grumbling at her. Finally after a long pause and an internal debate in his head, he said, "how the fuck ya lose yer folks?"

Sophia looked up, bit her lip. "My dad's dead… he died back at the old camp. Walkers. A lot of people died."

Merle exhaled, unsure what to say. "And yer ma?"

"She's fine… at least I hope she's still fine. I got lost. There were walkers after me, and Mr. Grimes… Rick… told me to hide while he led them away and then to go back to the road. But then I couldn't find the road anymore."

"The fuck is Rick?"

"You swear a real lot, you know," Sophia said.

"What's it to ya… 'nswer the question… yer the one 'lways talkin', so let's talk."

Sophia took the last bite of her Pop-Tart. "Mr. Grimes… Rick… is Carl's dad. He's a cop. He came back from Atlanta…"

Merle smirked then, looking at her. "Officer fuckin Friendly…," he muttered, "he's the bastard left my ass chained to a fuckin roof… left me for geek bait."

"Oh," was all Sophia said. There was silence for a moment before she said, "he probably didn't mean anything by it."

Merle chuckled and sneered sarcatically. "Right, kid."

"So why'd he do it then?"

Merle crumpled up his empty Pop-Tart wrapper, tossed it onto the floor, and stood up. He looked down at Sophia and said, "Reckon I'm not so good at playin' with others."

"Seem all right to me," Sophia smiled.

Merle shrugged. "Sorry bout yer pa…," he started to say before Sophia interrupted.

"Don't be… I'm not."

Merle shut his mouth at that, tightened his lips into a thin line and looked at her as she pulled herself up off the floor to stand. She reached down and lifted her bag, it was heavy, probably too heavy for her, but nonetheless she pulled it up, struggling, and heaved it over her shoulder. He grabbed his own bags then off the floor, and lifted them up with his good hand, went to turn away from her before her voice stopped him.

"I really miss my mom though, Mr. Dixon. Do you think maybe we might find them?" Her voice cracked, betraying the tears that she kept buried down in her throat.

He stood there, his back to her, standing tall and rigid. "We's gonna try, kid. Don't be callin' me Mr. Dixon or no shit like that. Jus' Merle, kid."

"Okay. Thank you." Sophia's voice was small and soft when she said it, and she forced herself to swallow the tears that had threatened to rise up. She reminded herself that she had to be a grown up now, especially now, and that there wasn't time to cry.

Merle twisted to look back at her, his hand in his pocket, bags weighing heavily on his shoulder. He met her eyes and half-smiled.

"Gonn' be a'right kid. Stick with me 'ere," he muttered, the words flowing out of his mouth unwittingly. He tried to ignore the way his heart twinged at the smile that lit up her face in response. He tried to ignore the way her whole face smiled, even her eyes, and the way her blue eyes gazed at him… like he was her savior or something, like she trusted him. He tried to ignore the thought in his head that told him that he had to do right by her. He tried to ignore all those things… but somehow he couldn't help but think that he was failing at it, that any attempt to ignore this little girl would just end up being a lost cause.

He pulled the Snickers bar out of his pocket and tossed it to her. Sophia caught it with both hands before he spoke, "nothin' wrong with a lil' candy once in a while, kid… choc'lates got an'ioxidants and shit."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N – Thank you for the reviews! Here's another chapter! Hope you like!**

* * *

Chapter 7

It took three days after they raided the convenience store to get supplies before they made a break in their search for the group. On the first day, they found a car, and using some maps that Merle had grabbed from the convenience store, they mapped out a likely area for them to search. Or rather, Merle mapped it out. Sophia mostly watched, a little amazed and awestruck at the plan.

Merle maintained his gruff demeanor, and occasionally she still worried that his disdain and anger toward her was real… but she slowly learned over that first day that for all his barking and growling, he wasn't actually going to bite.

She actually kind of liked his strange mannerisms – the way he swore almost constantly, his angry, shouting tone of voice, and the way his eyes always seemed to be glaring – because when she looked past all those things, she could see something else, something unexpected. She saw the way he slowed his step when they walked anywhere so that she could keep up, the way his eyes followed her when she went off on her own for a moment or moved ahead, the way he worked so hard to keep her safe, and the way he always gave her a larger portion of whatever they ate during the day.

Merle kept a close eye on the girl that first day, and that night, he covered her up in the backseat of the car with a blanket he'd grabbed from town. As she slept, he pondered ways he could keep her from getting hurt. Things he might be able to teach her, to help her stay out of trouble. She was so tiny. He couldn't imagine teaching her how to use a gun… although it wasn't a terrible idea considering he only had the one hand and she had the two.

* * *

The second day, they mostly spent hiking in the woods. Merle was determined to find a benchmark in the trail she had traveled when she'd gotten lost, and then, once he found that, they could just follow it back. If all went well, it would lead them straight back to the highway and the others.

Sophia was practically giddy with anticipation.

"Yer makin' too much noise," Merle snapped as she hopped along beside him. The girl was literally hopping – like a bunny. Merle groaned inwardly and shook his head. He couldn't remember little girls acting this way when he was younger… but then again that was a long time ago, and his memory was faded and warped from drug and alcohol use.

Sophia forced herself to walk quietly. "Sorry, Merle," she muttered, stifling a giggle of excitement that she might actually see her mom again soon. She tried to act contrite, and to walk softly like Merle had showed her. But within minutes she was skipping again, her feet crunching down on the leaves and twigs on the ground floor.

On that second night, they slept in the trees. Merle had to boost her up onto a high enough branch and then he helped her tie herself in with a rope. This way if walkers passed by in the night, they wouldn't be seen. Once Sophia was secure in her tree, Merle found a way to get up into another one and secure himself there one-handed.

Tying knots wasn't the easiest thing to do one-handed, but Merle had learned pretty fast after he got out of Atlanta that if he didn't learn to do everything one-handed, his existence in this world was going to be short-lived. He wasn't perfect at it, but he was confident that Sophia and him wouldn't fall out of their trees in the middle of the night and break their necks.

Sophia had loved the idea of sleeping in the tree. She hadn't done that much climbing as a kid before her mom had bundled her into the car in the middle of the night telling her that monsters were real, and that they needed to leave right away. She'd always wanted a tree house, and this felt like the next best thing.

Before she nodded off for the night, she whispered in the darkness to him, "thank you, Merle… I'm really glad you found me."

The only response in the silent woods was a grunt, but Sophia smiled all the same as she shut her eyes.

In his head, Merle couldn't help but think that he was glad he'd found her too, that she wasn't that bad of company for a girl… but he didn't say it, he couldn't say it. So he smiled to himself, glad for the cover of darkness that she couldn't see, and closed his eyes.

* * *

On the third day, after breakfast, they kept hiking. Sophia eyed the gun sticking out of Merle's belt as they moved forward through the woods.

"Do you know a lot about guns?," she asked.

Merle shrugged as he walked and muttered, "guns, bows, blades… all shit kinda weapons."

Sophia was silent for a moment. A few steps later, she said softly, "could you teach me?"

Merle stopped walking and turned to look at her.

At the serious expression on his face, she contemplated taking her words back, but instead she blurted out, "well, cause… you know… just in case…"

He cleared his throat, interrupting her anxious stammer. "Maybe I could teach ya… Important tha' a girl can protect 'erself now'days," he said simply and turned away to keep walking.

Hours later, as the sun slowly set on them, they stumbled upon two fallen walkers. Sophia recognized one instantly as the one that had been chasing her when she'd run off from the highway. She said as much to Merle and stifled a hint of regret that they hadn't found the place where she'd lost her doll first.

She hadn't said anything, but she had hoped they'd find that trail first and she could get the doll before they found the highway. She knew she'd never be able to convince her mother to let her go back for the doll. She reminded herself as she followed Merle, that it was just a doll, and that she was probably too old for dolls at this point in her life anyway.

Then they reached the stream where she'd hid as Rick kept going. Sophia was starting to get excited. They had really done it. They had really found the place again, and soon she would be with her mom.

Merle actually felt sad once Sophia pointed out where she'd hid in the stream before trying to head back to the highway, a tiny crevasse-like cave underneath a large tree's overgrown roots. He started to worry that once they reached the others, this was over.

Chances were Officer-Friendly-Mister-Rick-Grimes wasn't going to let fuckin' old Merle Dixon stay with the group, and Sophia would go off with her mom of course. Maybe Daryl would leave with Merle, but maybe not. He knew there was a woman his brother had been sweet on from the start… he couldn't remember which one, and he thought there was a reason Daryl wasn't going after her… a husband maybe… but he'd seen his brother shooting glances back at the camp before Atlanta.

And if Daryl stayed with the group… well, then it would be Merle again, all alone, by himself. Not that he wasn't used to it, and plenty capable on his own… but he'd sort of gotten used to Sophia's company in this short while, and he felt regret at the thought of losing her so soon.

Another part of him worried that the others had in fact moved on… he wondered how Sophia would feel if she found out that her mom had left her. Not that he would have blamed them if they had moved on. The chances were not good that a girl that young would survive in the woods by herself, and they had no way of knowing that someone like him would find the girl. He knew it would break her heart if they weren't on the highway where they were supposed to be, if they had truly abandoned her.

So he half didn't want to find them, and he half did want to find them. That was what he was thinking when they stumbled out of the trees and onto the side of the highway. The scene was a war zone – cars littered the whole area, dead bodies in some of them, flies swarming all around.

Sophia stepped onto the pavement in her sneakers and glanced around. Merle watched her, his face expressionless.

Her first thought was that they couldn't have left her… she knew her mother wouldn't do that. Ever. Not unless she had no choice. Her second thought was that something must have happened, because they just weren't there. She was standing by the taillights of a yellow car, looking around frantically, her heart sinking as she realized that the place was just as deserted as everywhere else she'd seen so far.

"Somethin' written on this car 'ere," Merle muttered, walking down the side of the road to the front of the car.

The hood of the car was stacked with bottled drinks, a blanket, flashlight, peanut butter, cereal, and canned food items, and a message was scrawled across the windshield – _SOPHIA STAY HERE WE WILL COME EVERY DAY_.

"They left," Sophia said, her voice small and quiet. She stood there, her head down, staring at her shoes. She'd come so close to finding them, to being able to sleep with her mom again that night. She felt defeated.

Merle looked at her. "Says they's comin' back…"

Sophia met his eyes and nodded. "Guess so… What now?"

Merle opened his mouth to speak, to tell her everything would be okay, that they'd wait by the car, and the group would come back, and she'd be with her mom again soon… only to be interrupted by the roar of a diesel engine, and the squeal of tires as a pick-up truck slammed to a halt beside them.

A strange man leaned out of the open passenger-side window. He had a tanned complexion, dark brown hair, and was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt that had a picture of a shark on the front. He called out, "well, you's two ain't roamers… what have we here?"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N – Yay to everyone who thought it was Dave from the bar! I was trying to show it was him, without actually saying it straight out. Don't worry, I have every intention of getting Merle and Sophia to the group eventually, but I just love the idea of them being so close and being thwarted. In the last chapter, when they finally reach the highway, I imagine that was the very same day (but in the evening) that the others left the sign and supplies and headed to the Greene Farm. So they missed them by that much (picture me holding up two fingers haha)… Also, as a final note – I know Merle is a badass, but I'm trying to depict the difficulty of the situation they are in. Keep that in mind. Thank you for the reviews!**

* * *

Chapter 8

The door to the truck popped open and out stepped the man in the passenger side. He smiled, but something was off about his smile. Sophia recognized it right away, and she knew Merle did too by the way he suddenly moved up beside her, and put his arm around her shoulders protectively.

"The name's Dave," he said, his voice placid and friendly. He motioned to the driver of the car and said, "that there's Tony… Sure is nice to see some of the living around these parts. You two from around here?"

The driver got out of the truck then. He was a bigger man, with graying brown hair and a beard. He wore a brown cap on his head, and a dirty white T-shirt. He smiled too, keeping his lips tightly together, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. He moved around the side of the vehicle and stopped at the fender closest to them, leaned back against it. There was a gun sticking out of the front of his pants.

Merle's arm on Sophia's shoulders was tight, and he pulled her closer to him inconspicuously. She shifted, allowed herself to be pulled tighter against him as he took a step forward so that he was somewhat concealing her small frame. She noticed how he tucked his other arm behind his back, hiding the fact that he was missing a hand.

"Nah," Merle said finally, his eyes locked on Dave but he was clearly very aware of Tony's presence, "we jus' passin' through."

Dave peered around Merle and Sophia, seeing the front of the car they stood next to… the sign and the supplies. He raised an eyebrow, let his grin spread wider. "That yours?"

Merle shook his head slowly, "not yet, but it was gonna be."

"So-ph-ia," Tony said, dragging the word out as he read it off the windshield. Sophia's head jerked in his direction and accidentally caught his eye. He winked at her, a glint in his eye that she'd seen before in her own father's. Her stomach flipped.

Dave jerked his head toward Sophia and addressed Merle, "who's the tyke? She yours?"

"Bet yer damn ass she is, what's it to ya… we's playin' twenty fuckin questions 'ere?" There was a bite in Merle's tone that Sophia hadn't heard before. The words were simple, but there was something menacing there, underlying what he said, but evident in his face from the look that Dave gave in return.

Dave put his hands up, "no, no, man… I'm just a curious fellow."

In a flash, he was crouching down in front of Sophia. She felt Merle's hand tighten on her arm. She tried not to tremble, tried to keep her face flat and expressionless like Merle seemed to be able to do.

"What's your name?," Dave said, a babyish whimper entering his voice as he said it. She knew it then that there was something wrong with this person, and that no matter what happened, she needed to stay by Merle.

"Molly," she said without blinking, thinking of the Molly Moon books she had loved so much. She felt a twinge of sadness at the thought that they had been left behind so long ago when they had left the house, and an even deeper twinge when she thought about how every night her mother would read to her from them. She missed her mother so badly. She missed her mom's hugs, and the way her mom would sing to her softly whenever Sophia was scared. She was scared now, and the only comfort she could draw came from Merle, his hand warm and rough on her arm. She glanced away from Dave and up to Merle.

Merle moved his lips into a half-smile for Sophia and then glared at Dave, who was now standing up. The other man crossed his arms in front of him, and seemed to smile smugly at Merle's glare. Merle was biding his time, trying to figure out his next move. It needed to be a smart move. He wasn't good at calculated action, he was good at brash action… but brash action wasn't going to help here. Whatever he did, he needed to get it done in such a way that Sophia would be safe. That was all that mattered to him at this point.

He couldn't take the two men on by himself, he knew that. The Merle on his own could have, but the Merle with Sophia, he couldn't put her at risk. Even one-handed, he'd have tried for it… gone for his gun… maybe died in the process, but he wouldn't have cared. Merle wasn't one to go down without a fight. But if he went for it, and if he didn't make it, then he'd be leaving Sophia alone with these men… and that he just couldn't do. He had no choice but to play nice. For Sophia's sake.

Dave bounced a little on the balls of his feet, and glanced over at Tony. Some imperceptible message passed between the two men, and then Dave said, "well, why don't you two grab what you came for, and then come on back with us… we've got a good group of guys, always have room for a sweet girl and her dear old dad."

Merle kept his eyes on Dave. It wasn't a request, it was a demand. Merle recognized it right away, and apparently so did Sophia because one of her hands came up and covered his own on her arm. Her hand was tiny and soft on top of his, and it made his heart hurt to think that they would have to go with these men… they'd have to… at least for now. For Sophia. And maybe for the rest of the group too… something told him that if Dave and Tony's people found the group it wouldn't end well for the women… probably not for the men either.

Dave opened the passenger side door and stood to the side, his face expectant, one of his hands fingering the handle of the gun attached at his hip.

Sophia moved out from Merle's grip to stand a bit apart from him but still at his side, she took his hand in hers and looked at him, "come on… dad." His heart constricted at the word as it left her mouth, but he followed as she scrambled up into the truck, and he slid over to the middle, letting her sit on his lap, as Dave wedged in on the other side.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N – Thank you for all the reviews everyone! I'm so glad you like this story so far. Here's a second chapter for today. I'll try to get another new one up tomorrow. **

* * *

Chapter 9

They passed through a town, and kept driving, and finally they reached a nearly concealed dirt road off the highway, that took them through the woods for a few miles until they reached a large campsite.

Sophia tried not to fidget on Merle's lap, as she strained to see the place. He kept his arm encircling her waist to keep her steady as Dave pulled his gun and trained it on the two of them, before popping the passenger door open.

"Now I don't want no trouble out of you two," Dave said with a smirk.

Tony stayed in the driver's seat waiting for Merle and Sophia to exit the car. Merle's gun was still in his pants by the small of his back, and he could feel it pressing into him as he slid across the seat. Sophia got out first and she moved aside to make room for him to get out and stand beside her.

The moment Merle's head cleared the roof the vehicle and he stood up, a loud voice boomed out, "is that Merle 'Douchebag' Dixon!"

Merle turned slightly to look where the voice had come from, and saw a large, balding man heading over to them quickly. Merle squinted and then called out, "Jerry… Jerry Lee Gruff… well what the fuck man." His voice held disbelief at the site of the man. He glanced quickly at Sophia, at the look of fear in her eyes, and nodded at her as he took her hand in his, squeezing gently to let her know it was okay.

The man Merle called Jerry reached the side of the truck and shook his head at Dave, "put that fucking thing away… this man here's a legend, and you don't point guns at legends, you stupid fuck. You're lucky old Merle here didn't kill your ass… meanest son-bitch I ever met." Jerry's voice was loud and he talked excited, motioning wildly as he spoke.

Dave dropped the arm that had been raised with the gun, and stood there, shifting uncomfortably.

Sophia was amazed watching it play out. She was glad that Merle still held her hand, it made her feel safer that way, because if she looked over at where Tony was standing she could still see him staring at her, leering even.

Jerry spun around to face Merle, a wide grin on his face. "I didn't know you had a little girl, Merle! You never mentioned being a daddy!"

Merle remembered Jerry Lee Gruff well; they'd done a stint in jail a few years back. He didn't trust the fat man as far as he could throw him… and that wasn't far. Jerry Lee had to have at least two hundred pounds on Merle. He couldn't remember what Jerry had been serving time for, but he was hoping it would come back to him.

He scowled at Jerry and said gruffly, "didn't know it m'self, Jerr… fuckin mother up and left 'er with me. We's gettin' 'long though."

Jerry crouched down to look at Sophia and said, "what's your name, sweetheart?"

She opened her mouth but Merle spoke up angrily before she could, "Molly, 'er name's Molly."

Whatever message Merle conveyed in his tone must have come across because Jerry straightened up and nodded, then clapped a hand on Merle's back, and pushed him forward saying, "well come on, come on, let me give you the tour."

Merle gripped Sophia's hand as he moved forward, taking her with him, pulling her closer to his body. She seemed to understand because she smushed herself against him, letting him put his arm back around her.

The one thing Merle remembered instantly about Jerry was that the man loved to talk. Normally, this would have just pissed Merle off, but for once he was grateful to hear someone prattle on endlessly. It gave him lots and lots of very much needed information without him needing to act like he wanted any of it.

"Good group of guys here… about thirty of us…"

_Tran'lation, _thought Merle, _bunch-a fuckin' assholes, rapists, and murderers. _

"Been at this spot for a few weeks so far… got a few places to be checked out in these parts before we be moving on…"

_In oth'r words_, thought Merle, _we's got some more raidin', robbin', and fuckin' to do before we find someplace else to raid, rob, an' fuck. _

"Not too many roamers, which is nice. But we've seen a few. Nothing a bunch of badasses can't handle. So how about you? I see you're missing appendages… still hanging long and low otherwise?"

Merle gritted his teeth. He wanted to haul off and slug the guy… show him how good Merle could be with just one fuckin' hand. But he didn't. He kept his good hand twined with Sophia's, and forced himself to be calm. Forced himself to make nice.

"Jus' the hand a few months back… got in an alte'cation with an off'cer of the law," Merle said, trying to keep his voice amicable.

Jerry chuckled. "Yep, that sounds like you. Don't the law know there ain't no such thing anymore? It's a do as you please kind of world."

Merle nodded. "Don't I know. Well I s'pose me and my girl better be off soon."

"Oh come on now, so soon? There's plenty of room. Even have an empty tent, right by me. One of our men didn't make it back from a run the other night. You can shack up in his tent." Jerry said, and then he trailed off as another man approached. This new man was younger, dark brown hair, nearly black. "Hey Randall, what's cooking?," Jerry greeted the other man.

The man called Randall glanced at Sophia, caught her eye. He pursed his lips before smiling at her maliciously and then addressing Jerry. "Wanted to let you know that the whole west side has been checked and is clear. A few days of recuperation and we should be able to scout the east, finish up and maybe head off." Randall went to turn before stopping and saying, "Oh, and I left you something from that campsite the other night. It's in your tent, waiting. Real cute too."

A chill licked up Sophia's spine and she shivered. Randall tossed another glance her way before heading off.

Jerry looked at Merle. "So you're staying?"

"Wha' he mean the west side?," Merle asked.

"Oh that. We like to look around wherever we stay, meet the kinfolk, all that. You know how it is. We've finished up to the west of us, but now we're heading east, I guess. Dave and Tony were supposed to start checking out that side today, but I guess they ran across you before they got too far into it."

Merle nodded indifferently. His face was unassuming, but his mind was racing. They'd come from the east. East was probably where Daryl, Sophia's mother and the rest of her group was. He couldn't imagine what had happened to make them leave the highway, but he assumed if they'd left the sign that they weren't too far away and that they were sticking around. And if they were sticking around, chances were Jerry's guys would run across them sooner rather than later.

"So you're staying?," Jerry repeated, an edge to his voice.

Merle looked at Sophia. Sophia didn't want to stay, but she kept her face passive. She trusted Merle, she had to trust Merle, and she knew in her heart that he wasn't going to do her wrong. She bit her lower lip and then gave him a close-mouthed smile.

"Yea, I s'pose we could use a place to sleep. Gettin' dark anyways," Merle said softly, reluctantly. If they left – assuming they'd even be allowed to leave – chances were they'd be followed. Merle had to play this right. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

Jerry clapped his hands together and grinned. "Oh great! Let me show you your tent, it's right next to mine anyway." They walked a few steps before Jerry stopped and motioned to the khaki green structure. "There, that one. And I'm right next door."

Jerry lifted the flap to the tent and motioned for Sophia to go inside. With a glance, she let go of Merle's hand and crawled into the empty tent. The flap closed behind her, but she could hear the rustling of feet as Jerry turned away to face Merle.

"You better watch your girl, Merle. I'll tell the others she's not an option, but not all of them play by the rules. Just a friendly warning. We don't keep no women and babes round her for a reason… least not for long anyway." Jerry's voice was stern and serious, but matter-of-fact.

Merle clenched his jaw, and then muttered, "anyone touches 'er, even fuckin' looks at 'er like they's gonna, they gonn' wish they hadn't when I'm done with 'em." He kept his eyes locked on Jerry's, working his jaw, forcing the other man to look away first.

"I'll spread the word," Jerry said simply as he glanced away from Merle's angry gaze.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N – Sorry for the super late update! My goal is to get this fic updated at least 2 or 3 times a week. Thank you so much for the reviews! I love hearing from you all and I'm glad you still like this. **

* * *

Chapter 10

It was hard to sleep in this strange camp. The noises from Jerry's tent next to theirs were shrill and scary. Sophia thought she heard crying in the night, and whimpering maybe. After a while, when Merle noticed that Sophia was shaking, he went over to her and shushed her. She was lying on her side, one of her ears pressed to the makeshift pillow.

"Gonn' be a'right, girl," he'd whispered and then put his hand over her other ear to block out the noise.

That's how she fell asleep, with Merle's hand covering her ear and keeping her safe.

When she woke, all was quiet. She opened her eyes and saw Merle sitting across from her. He put a finger to his lips and she closed her mouth, nodded. She swiveled her body into a sitting position, and mimicked his stance on the tent floor. She listened, footsteps sounded by the side of the tent, and then, as the person moved farther away, they became more and more muffled.

Merle nodded at her once the footsteps became barely audible and she took that as an okay to speak.

"What are we gonna do?," Sophia said, keeping her voice low.

Merle made a face and shrugged.

"Are we gonna find my mom still?," Sophia asked.

Merle nodded once.

"When?"

He grunted and scooted across the tent floor toward her. "Ain't simple no more. Not jus' bout findin' yer ma, it's bout keepin' 'em all safe now. These fucks find yer ma and the others… ain't gonn' be good." His voice was gruff and growly in her ear.

Sophia chewed her bottom lip and nodded. "What about us?"

Merle half smiled at her. "We be fine. Ya jus' stick close to me. Ain't lettin' nothin' happen to ya."

Sophia smiled.

* * *

It had been three days since Merle and Sophia first arrived at the camp. So far the men had respected that Sophia wasn't to be bothered and they stayed clear of her. The only ones who still continued to leer were Randall and Tony.

"Nah, nah, nah… yer doin' it wrong again," Merle huffed at Sophia. "Pay 'ttention."

Sophia stood there, knife in hand and watched as Merle strode over to where she stood, grabbed a second knife and tossed it, the knife lodging loudly into the area of the tree that he'd marked earlier for a target.

"See?," he asked, looking at her.

"Well no, Merle, not really. I don't see, otherwise I'd be able to hit the stupid thing," she said angrily.

"the fuck why?," Merle muttered, his voice clearly exasperated. They'd been at this for hours today, and all day yesterday. It was hopeless. She could hit the ground, she could whiz straight past the tree branches, but she couldn't hit the tree to save her life. She didn't seem to be improving at all and Sophia was just as frustrated as Merle at this point.

"You're taller than me, for one," she said, "and for two, I just suck at this. Can't we try something else?"

"No, 'Phia, we's tryin' this. And we gonna keep tryin' this til yer ass gets it." His face softened as he said it, the words still gruff but his eyes kinder on hers. He'd taken to calling her 'Phia – short for Sophia – when the others weren't around, and calling her girl or kid when they were. He had a hard time remembering to call her Molly so girl or kid was just easier.

"Dammit, I hate this though," Sophia said angrily, launching the knife she was holding as she stomped away from him. She heard the thunk of the knife hitting bark and spun to look. The knife was lodged in the tree, down close to the bottom and not anywhere near the target, but still – in the tree.

Merle stifled a grin and mumbled, keeping his voice angry and rough, "Ain't mean shit to me, 'Phia, but yer ass ain't quittin'. Get over 'ere and do that again."

Sophia made a face, scrunched her nose up and rolled her eyes, but she did as she was told.

Four hours later, dusk was on its way, but she'd hit the target five times. Never in the center, but at least inside the lines.

They were just about to call it a night, when they heard the trees rustle, a low groan and the shuffling of unsteady feet. Merle cast a glance at her, and jutted his chin in the direction he wanted her to go. Sophia hesitated.

"Go!," he scowled, and she scrunched up her face again but went – running off in the direction he'd showed her before and hiding inside a rotting tree trunk.

She could hear the sounds of a struggle on the outside, could hear Merle swearing at something – a walker, she realized when she heard him say – "fuckin dumbass geek, ain't be findin' no brains in me."

Sophia grinned in the darkness of the tree, scratched her cheek and then put her hand down on her lap. She was sitting cross-legged and the first thing that registered was the wetness on her pants before she pulled her hand back up. There was a thin sheen of red on the part of her hand that had touched her pants. She glanced down in shock and confusion at the spot of blood on her pants, but before she had time to think she heard a moan from outside of her hiding spot, and then a groan followed by a hiss, and then legs were visible through the hole in the tree.

The walker sank awkwardly to its knees and proceeded to try to get at her. Sophia scrambled back, the blood forgotten about in her haste to escape the walker that was trying to get in. It wasn't a large hiding spot, its hands were grabbing at her and Sophia shrieked and grabbed for the knife she still had in her pants. She jabbed wildly at the walker's arms, missing as it grappled to get a hold of any part of her; she pulled her legs underneath her body and kneeled. Its head was half inside the rotted tree hole and Sophia took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down.

Merle voice was in her head, "_fuckin do it right, 'Phia._"

She pulled her hand close to her chest, gripping the knife, and then raised it, stabbing the walker straight in its skull.

When its face hit the dirt, the knife still sticking out, her heart was in her throat and she could feel it pounding there, and she was shaking, but the smile on her face could have lit up the world.

"'Phia!," she heard Merle call out loudly and then, "fuck!" She heard him scrambling through the bushes to get to her hideout, yanking the downed walker out of the tree, and then helping her out. She stood up as he checked the walker to make sure it was dead, removed her knife.

"Fuckin' hell, I swear this fucker jus' slipped outta my sight," Merle swore angrily before looking at her, before taking the sight of her standing there in. The first thing he saw was the blood on her pants. "Fuck, ya fuckin bit!" Merle took a step towards her.

"No, no, I'm fine. Really, Merle, I'm fine," Sophia said, glancing down at her pants again, remembering the blood.

Merle wasn't listening. He had maneuvered her onto the ground and was checking her bare arms, her lower legs, for scratch marks, for bites. He was frantic and muttering repeatedly, "fuck, stupid dumbass, fuckin got 'er killed, fuck, I's fucked up this shit, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuckin sorry, fuckin forgive me, sorry stupid dumbass."

Sophia found her voice. "Stop Merle!," she said grabbing his hands and forcing him to look at her. "I'm fine," she said.

"Yer bleedin'," he growled.

"It's not what you think," Sophia sighed, scooting away from him and sitting on her knees. She knew what it was now. It was the first time it had happened to her, but her mother had been telling her for months now that it was only a matter of time. Her first period. What luck she had. Her first period in the middle of the woods, during some kind of zombie apocalypse, lost without her mother, and surrounded by a bunch of men – most of which with extremely questionable character.

"But… the fuck then is it?," he said.

Sophia grimaced and looked down. She couldn't help the tears that welled in her eyes.

Merle frowned. He put his hand to her chin and forced her to look up at him. "What, 'Phia?," he said, his voice concerned. He was no good at this. No good at this crying shit, but he needed to know what was going on.

"It's… my… period…," Sophia sniffled out haltingly, the tears starting to flow.

Merle sank back on his heels and looked at her. He sighed and then took Sophia in his arms to hug her as she melted into him. "Well hell, kid," he muttered softly, his heart still beating frantically at the thought that he'd lost her, "ain't no big thing… I thought yer ass was dead."

* * *

**A/N - In my head, I'm imagining that all of this Merle and Sophia stuff is happening simultaneously to what was going on in the show at the Greene Farm – Shane and Otis, Carl's recovery, the search stuff, Daryl getting injured, the barn. I'm figuring three or four days is a fair amount of time spent on the farm before Rick, Hershel, and Glenn run into Dave and Tony in town. **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"But why can't I go?," Sophia said, trying and failing to keep the whine out of her voice. She stood in the entrance to their tent, hands on her hips, as he got his stuff together for a run into town.

After Sophia's first step toward womanhood the night before, there were new supplies that needed to be gotten… girly supplies that they just weren't going to find in an all men's camp. After the walker attack in the woods, and once he knew she was okay, Merle had gathered her up, insisted on carrying her back to the tent… just in case. He'd gotten her a change of clothes and left her to clean herself up, and then made arrangements with some others about going into town the next afternoon. Dave and Tony had said they were going anyway to do some scouting, and Merle was glad to be able to keep an eye on the two. He didn't know where Daryl and the group were in relation to the camp, in relation to the town – assuming they were even still around – but he definitely didn't want to risk Tony and Dave running into them if he could help it.

Merle didn't look at her; instead he just huffed, continued what he was doing and kept his back to her. "Stop," he growled. "Ya ain't comin'."

"You don't even know what to get," Sophia said softly.

Merle spun to face her. "Like hell. They jus' fuckin' diapers or somethin'… ain't like I can't get wha' ya need, kid. Fuck, ya don't even know wha' the hell ya need. I can fuckin' read boxes good as ya can. And I'm better with a weapon. Yer stayin'." His voice had an air of finality to it.

Sophia rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me if I'm not that thrilled about you buying my female hygiene products."

"Trus' me, ain't no fuckin' picnic for me neither," Merle muttered at her.

They stood there for a moment, their stances almost a mirror image of the other's – hands on hips, heads tilted, angry glares, their faces contorted in stubborn sneers. It was like a face off – their eyes locked, neither one wanting to look away first, to lose the upper hand.

Finally, Merle jutted his tongue out of his mouth at her, sticking it out and making a face. He saw Sophia work her jaw, fight the urge to laugh, and he crossed his eyes to complete the look.

She couldn't help it… Sophia broke into a loud giggle, dropping her hands down to her side with a sigh. "You'll take me someday?"

"Better than tha', take ya when we bust outta 'ere and back to yer ma."

Sophia smiled, her face lighting up like someone turned the lights on and Merle felt his heart flutter. Four days was long enough with these people, assholes, the whole lot of them; he didn't trust the way some of them still watched Sophia, and he had been planning his and Sophia's next move since the moment they got here.

He pulled his bag over his shoulder, stuck his gun into his pants, and looked at Sophia staring up at him expectantly.

He stepped over to her; on impulse, he bent at the waist awkwardly and kissed the top of her head. "Stay outta trouble, ya hear?"

"You stay out of trouble. And come back safe," Sophia said, throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him.

He left her in the tent and went to meet Dave and Tony at the vehicles. He strode easily among the men as they crowded around to give their last minute orders. They didn't bother him; he was used to assholes, he was one himself, and he'd be damned if a missing hand would turn Merle into a whimpering coward.

"Yo Merle, I hear your brat's a woman now," one of the younger men joked as Merle passed him. Merle didn't remember his name, but he knew the man was young, hung around at the campsite with another guy Randall, who Merle didn't see at the moment. Their second day here, Jerry had told Merle that the two of them were the main ones to watch out for when it came to Sophia. Apparently the two of them were known for their antics when they came across young women and girls on the road.

Merle halted in his tracks and turned to the man, "'xcuse me fuckbag, ya wanna repeat tha'?"

The man must have been high, or drunk, or just stupid, because he didn't recognize Merle's tone straightaway and instead cast a sarcastic glance at his buddies and laughed, "you ever need someone to school her on being a lady, I'd be more than happy to."

It was instinct that punched the guy in the face. One second, Merle was standing there, calm as can be; the next, his fist had clenched and his arm was extending and he connected hard with the guy's nose. The man shot back like a sack of potatoes, choking and yelping as his nose spewed thick, red blood. The others that had been crowded around scattered, backing up rapidly. Merle advanced on the fucker, brought his fist around again and this time connected with the guy's side; then again, rapidly, a third time, punching the other man square in the jaw. The man was bent over, bleeding, cowering, but Merle grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up so they were face to face, pulling the other man up so that he was almost in the air, balancing on the balls of his feet and eye to eye with a vicious and seething Merle.

"How's tha', pussy bitch? I can teach ya how to be a lady real good too, best fucking 'member tha' next time ya think to speak outta turn." Merle jostled the man again, shaking him, and then he moved in close again, close enough to the other man so that when he spoke in a low hiss, the man would be sprayed by Merle's spittle. "Keep yer bitch-ass hands to yerself, or I'll find ya, an' I'll kill ya. Got me?"

The other man nodded rapidly, his eyes darting around frantically. Merle dropped the man's collar then and let the guy stumble off balance to the ground at his feet. Merle watched, then made a noise deep in the back of his throat and spit at the cowering man before spinning on his heels and moving over to the vehicles where Dave and Tony stood watching.

"We's fuckin' goin' or wha'?," Merle snapped, hopping in the bed of the truck.

* * *

**A/N – Thank you for all of the great reviews! You guys are the best! :) Hope you like this chapter! So Dave and Tony are going to town with Merle in tow… gee, what happens to Dave and Tony in town again? LOL. **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N – Couple of warnings and disclaimers for this chapter. For one, regarding the bar scene in Nebraska, I tried to remember what was said and I used some Youtube clips to piece together the Rick and Dave stuff. I'm sorry if it's a bit inaccurate, but I tried to do the best I could. And for two, this chapter contains violence and/or attempted violence towards a child. Put down the pitchfork (or stones), and don't worry. It's Sophia's story and you can trust me, I'm not going to let anything happen to that little girl. **

**Thank you for the reviews and for reading! **

* * *

Chapter 12

Merle wanted to make this quick. Quick into town to get what he needed and quick getting out and back to Sophia. He didn't trust leaving Sophia alone with that bunch, at least not for long. If there was anything Merle was good at, it was spotting the assholes. Takes one to know one, right?

As soon as they reached the town, Merle went straight for the closest convenience store and Dave and Tony took off on their own, doing God knows whatever they planned to do. Merle was glad to be rid of them for a moment. He was fairly certain they wouldn't leave without him, which was only a concern given that there was only the one truck to take them all back; but either way, he didn't plan to linger. As it was, he hoped to beat them back to the truck. Better to be waiting around for them to finish than to be left in their dust.

Food was easy. He knew what to get for him and Sophia. Even clothing wasn't that hard; Sophia needed a new pair of pants to replace the bloodstained pair, and he grabbed an extra pair for her too just in case. He never imagined that someday he'd be getting clothes for a little girl, and he certainly never imagined stepping foot into the feminine hygiene aisle.

The aisle was full of items he'd only seen before in different broads' bathrooms when he'd cleaned up after a quick roll in the sack, or bed, or table, or up against the wall. Really anywhere, Merle had never been picky, and the chicks he met up with weren't either. Hell, they couldn't be picky to get involved with Merle. Merle had never had a relationship last longer than three days… although not even days, really just nights, because Merle never saw broads during the day anyway.

And technically, he'd probably had more one time type relationships than anything. He'd been a local favorite at the bar back home – one of those classy joints with a mechanical bull to ride; except with the lady customers, Merle was just as popular as the bull. Like a rite of passage… they had to have a ride and Merle had always been more than happy to oblige. The thought made Merle's hand automatically go to his crotch and scratch absently. _Prob'ly how I got the clap._

He looked at shelves and shelves of boxes and plastic packages and wondered what the hell he'd gotten himself into. He'd definitely grown to care about Sophia… he might even consider that he loved the girl, although he'd be damned before he'd admit it out loud. She was his little girl, somehow she'd just dug her way into his heart and he wasn't letting that go anytime soon. But this was something so out of left field, so foreign, little girls and their lady troubles… _h__ow the fuck am I s'posed to know wha' to get._

"Look for the Always brand." The voice stopped Merle cold and he turned, seeing Dave standing in the doorway that faced the aisle.

"The fuck do yer dumb ass want…," Merle scowled.

Dave shrugged. "Hey, if you don't want the help… hell, you seem to have it covered anyway, fuckwad."

Merle swallowed his pride… for Sophia. "Fuck…," he muttered, "come again now… 'lways, ya says?"

Dave smirked. "Yeah, Always brand. If you're getting pads, I'd go with the winged kind. Or you could do Kotex. Oh, and tampons, you could get her tampons but she's still pretty young, probably better to start with pads."

Merle glared at Dave. "The fuck ya know bout this shit?," he growled.

The other man made a face, shrugged again. "Hey, man, I'm more than just a fucking asshole. A guy's allowed to have fucking layers. I had a mother, okay, and three little sisters. You learn to buy girls' shit really fast in that kind of family."

Merle nodded, the only thanks he was going to give a guy like Dave. Then he grabbed a package off the shelf and chucked it in his bag, cast a sidelong glance at Dave and muttered, "yer still a fuckin' asshole."

Dave chuckled. "Fuckin-A, man. Just gotta check the bar next door and then Tony and me will meet you at the truck."

Merle grunted in response, turning his back to the door and listening for the door to swing shut on Dave's departure. He had one more thing to get – a weapon for Sophia.

* * *

Sophia crouched by the spring not far from the campsite, and tried to scrub the dried blood out of her pants. She wished she'd asked Merle to pick up hydrogen peroxide. She remembered how after a bad night with her dad, her mom would stand over the sink, pouring peroxide on her bloodstained clothes to get the blood to bubble itself out of the fabric.

"Well, hello there, Molly."

Sophia turned toward the voice, saw Randall standing a few yards behind her on a rock. Another man stepped up next to Randall… the man's face was bruised and bloody and his nose twisted at a strange angle. Sophia tried to place the second guy's name… Doug or Dodge or something like that.

She ignored the two men and turned her attention back to her pants. She planned to clean them as best she could and then maybe pick some berries for Merle when he got back. She knew he'd be bringing food back with him, but she thought he might like the surprise.

"You know… Mol-ly, if that is your real name…," Randall said before trailing off. She could tell he was getting closer by the way the gravelly ground crunched beneath his feet. "You know what, Dodge," Randall continued, "I don't think that is her real name…"

"Me neither, Randy," Dodge muttered hoarsely.

Sophia kept to her task, but keeping an eye on the two men as they approached.

"You know, Dodge…. I'd bet her name is So-phia."

Sophia stiffened, she kept her hands submerged under the water, took the bottom of one pant leg and wrapped it around her hand a couple of times, gripping it.

"What makes you say that, Randy?," Dodge said. They were playing with her; she could hear it in their voices.

Randall stopped moving, standing just a foot away from her. "Gee, I don't know… maybe because that's what that fucking douchebag who broke your nose always calls her. You know, when they think they're far enough away that no one can hear."

Sophia turned her head to look at them, flickering her gaze from Dodge to Randall and smiling. "Merle broke your nose?," she asked, "isn't that a shame." The tone of her voice surprised her. It was sarcastic, and she was pretty sure Merle would approve. Her mother, maybe not; but Merle, definitely.

Dodge's eyes narrowed. "Fucking cunt, you think because you're a kid that keeps you safe? You're no kid far as I can tell… you're a bitch who needs a lesson."

Sophia stayed crouched, tightening her grip on the wet pants in the water. "Fuck you, Do-odge. And fuck your friend too." She was scared, but she refused to show it. She was twelve, and small, and pretty much defenseless, but there was no way she wasn't going to give these assholes a run for their money.

"My thoughts exactly," Randall laughed and moved forward, going to grab Sophia, but she stood up faster, whipping the wet clothes out at them, lashing Randall in the face, knocking him back a second, giving her some time to scramble forward, dashing across the spring, and up the hill at the other side.

Randall was only knocked back for a second, and he was quick on her heels, Dodge with him, moving for Sophia, going to grab at her.

* * *

Merle sat in the back of the truck for a few minutes, waiting. _Wha' the fuck's takin' so damn long?_ Finally, he hopped out of the bed, leaving his bag behind, and moved toward the bar.

He heard talking as he approached. He hesitated at the side of the building and decided to wait before he went in. Something seemed off – he thought maybe he heard more voices than just Dave and Tony. He stepped softly and moved so that he could peer inside through a window.

Through the window, he could see Dave and Tony standing a few feet from the door, facing the bar and engaged in conversation… and then – _fuckin' shit_… Merle could see Mr. Officer Friendly Fucking Rick Grimes, the bastard that lost Sophia in the fuckin' woods and handcuffed Merle on the fuckin' roof in Atlanta. Merle scowled, he felt anger course through him but he forced himself to stifle it. This wasn't the time. He couldn't be that Merle right now, he needed to be smart Merle, the Merle that was going to save Sophia and get her back to her momma.

Merle shifted so that he could see better inside, moved a little closer so he could hear better what they were saying. Sitting on a stool near Rick was the Asian kid… Glenn… Merle thought was his name. Merle recognized him from the group, and there was one other guy, an older fellow sitting at the bar with a half-drunk glass of scotch or something. _Well fuck._

He heard Dave say something like, "you don't know what we've had to go through out there, things we've had to do. I bet you've had to do some of those same things yourself, am I right? Ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same. Now how about we take a nice friendly hayride to this farm and get to know each other."

Rick shifted on his seat, a little uncomfortably. His back was to the door so Merle couldn't see his facial expression, but he could hear the hesitation in the man's voice. "That's not gonna happen."

"Now, Rick…," Dave started to say before Tony interrupted.

"This is bullshit," Tony spat, moving from where he stood so that he was next to the wall. Merle saw what Tony was doing; he was boxing the men – Rick and Glenn and the other guy – boxing them in.

"Calm down," Rick said.

_Fuck, here comes the fucking 'uthority. Shit Rick, how's tha' workin out for ya? _Merle couldn't help thinking it. He didn't care who Rick was – something about him just irked Merle something fierce.

"Don't ever tell me to calm down. I'll shoot you three assholes in the head and take your damn farm…," Tony muttered, moving forward but stopping when Dave held up a hand.

Dave turned so that his side was to the door, shook his head and said, "whoa, whoa, whoa, relax…" Dave moved, hopped the bar in a quick movement and continued, "nobody's killing anybody, nobody's shooting anybody, right Rick? Just friends having a drink, that's all." He started rummaging through the cabinets behind the bar, "now…. Where's the good stuff? Good stuff… good stuff… oh, look at that." He grabbed a bottle from underneath, grabbed a glass and poured himself a drink. He tipped it back, swallowed it in one gulp and then looked back up at Rick, his face serious. _This ain't gonn' be good._

Dave cleared his throat and said, "Rick, we can't stay out there. You know what's like."

Rick was standing now, facing Dave with his back to Tony. The cop shifted his gaze from Dave and then over his shoulder at Tony, and then back to Dave again. "Yea, I do. But the farms too crowded as is… I'm sorry. You'll have to keep looking."

"Keep looking…," Dave repeated, "What do you suggest we do then?"

Merle watched Rick shift his gaze again, settling back on Dave, and then say, "I don't know… I hear Nebraska's nice."

Merle heard the sarcasm and he wondered if he'd missed a part of the conversation – what did Nebraska have to do with anything?

Dave nodded slowly, then he laughed for a moment before a sarcastic kind of smile moved across his lips. "Nebraska… that's how it's gonna be?"

Merle felt the tension; he almost knew what was going to happen before it did. From his spot outside, he saw Dave go for his gun. He saw Rick move faster, blowing a round straight through Dave's head and then spinning before Tony could even get a grip on the rifle slung across his back, blowing two rounds into Tony's chest.

Merle was half in and half out as it happened, still on the outside of the door, but debating on what he should do. He had two choices… he could go in to try to talk to Rick and find out where Daryl and Sophia's momma were or he could get the hell out of there and back to Sophia. Maybe come back with her, try to get back before Rick left.

A part of him wanted to go in, but what would he really be expecting? This was Rick – not a fan of Merle already – and the Asian sure as hell wouldn't be on Merle's side, and Merle didn't even know the other guy. Merle considered going in, he wanted to go in, but it was just as likely that Rick would put a bullet in Merle before he'd hear Merle out. Shoot first, ask questions later. This wasn't the same Rick as the one Merle had dealt with in Atlanta.

_Fuck. _Merle couldn't take the risk. He couldn't risk getting a bullet in the fucking brain and leaving Sophia back at that camp with the others. There weren't any options. Merle spun on his heel and headed for the truck, slid behind the wheel and thanked whoever he should be thanking that Dave was smart enough – or stupid enough – to leave the keys in the ignition.

* * *

Sophia scrambled up the hill, but the soft dirt worked against her. She slid, almost went down, and it took a second off her time and she felt hands clench around her ankles, and then Dodge had flanked her, grabbed her shoulders and shoved her down.

"Get off!," she screamed, squirming as Dodge grabbed her firmly, shoved her face in the dirt before flipping her over so that she was on her back. He crouched behind her, holding her by the arms, pinning her down. She squirmed against the pressure, kicked her feet, connected with Randall who was trying to grab her legs.

"Fuck!," Randall snapped as she connected with him again. He backhanded Sophia across the face as she strained to sit up, to get away.

"Uh," the sound out of Sophia's mouth was involuntary as Randall struck her. She saw stars for a second, touched her tongue to the corner of her mouth and tasted blood. _Fuck, Merle, where are you… I need you now. _

Randall got in her face, his body hovering over hers ominously. She could smell his breath, rank from whatever he had eaten for breakfast or lunch. Dodge still held her shoulders, pinning her from moving, and Randall hovered, leaning over her body, put his face up close to hers. "You're gonna fucking behave you little bitch, or you're gonna fucking regret it. You got me?," Randall hissed low.

Sophia glared at him, let her eyes throw daggers that she wished were actual knives. She spit in Randall's face. "Fuck you, Ran-dy," she said angrily and she spat at him again.

He hit her again, slapping her hard across the face, and she felt the tears pop into her eyes, resisted the urge to vomit with the flash of pain that sliced through her. She turned her head back to face him, to glare, and she spit again, this time the saliva hitting Randall square in one eye.

"You bitch," Randall snapped, but before he could strike her again, Sophia felt the slightest resistance in pressure on her shoulders and she acted on it. She flung her head back, connecting with Dodge's face, plowing the back of her head right into his nose and Dodge released her, falling backwards with the pain, howling as she further damaged his already broken face.

Sophia kicked and wriggled, jamming a part of her leg up between Randall's own legs, clearly connecting with a part of him she didn't even want to consider. Randall yelped, bent slightly at the waist as he went to put a hand to his aching crotch, gave just enough room for Sophia to wiggle, bring her leg up again, connect again, and then she scrambled out from underneath. Sophia flipped as she scrambled back, moving fast on her hands and knees, up the hill, and away from both Randall and Dodge.

She reached the top and glanced back over her shoulder. They were recovering fast. She hopped to her feet and was about to run… she turned her head. Randall was on his feet and moving fast up the hill. She ran.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Merle slid the truck to a stop in the middle of the camp and the men started milling around, heading toward him.

"Where's Dave and Tony?," Jerry asked.

Merle scowled; he wasn't in a chatting mood. Merle grabbed his bag out of the bed and brushed past Jerry, moving toward his tent. He heard Jerry coming after him, but he picked up the pace, reached the tent and flipped open the door flap. _Fuck._, he thought.

He spun to glare at Jerry, "she ain't 'ere… where the fucks my girl?"

Jerry shook his head. "No idea, man. Where's Dave and Tony?"

"Dunno. Fuckers dis'peared on me. Couldn't find 'em, so I got the fuck outta there," Merle lied without missing a beat, glancing around. The truth wasn't a luxury he could afford right now. All that mattered was finding Sophia and getting the hell out of this camp in the hopes that Rick and the other two would still be in town by the time Merle and Sophia could get there. All that mattered was keeping his promise to that little girl – reuniting her with her momma.

Jerry opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything, Merle heard it. A squeak or a squeal or a shout, and he took off running, dodging between the trees as he headed into the woods and out toward the small creek where he thought Sophia might be.

Merle stopped caring who heard him, his sole focus was on finding Sophia, and he screamed out, "'Phia!"

He could hear something running toward him and he heard her call out, "Merle!" He picked up the pace, moving around the trunk of a large tree and fell to his knees when he saw her reach the tree on the other side at the same time. Sophia collapsed into Merle's open arms, panting hard, as he grabbed her, wrapped her inside his arms and stood, lifting her up into the air with his hand on her back.

"Chr'st girl, where the fuck ya been?," Merle muttered.

Sophia was still gasping hard as she breathed and she struggled to speak into his chest, "they… grabbed… me… at the water. "

Merle's heart clenched and he sank back down so that Sophia's feet were on the ground. He pushed her back so that he could see her face. He cringed at the blood on her lip and at the bruise forming below one of her eyes and spanning across her cheek. "Who," he said, his voice grim.

"Ran-dall and Do-odge," Sophia whimpered.

"They hurt ya?," Merle asked, his eyes narrowed; he wasn't talking about her face.

Sophia shook her head, biting back her tears as she got her breathing under control. Merle grabbed her hand and went to move toward the creek.

"They're not there," Sophia said softly. "They started to come after me but they switched directions. I don't know where they went. I think… I think, someone called for them."

Merle growled, the sound low and angry from deep in this throat. "We gonna find 'em, dontcha worry, girl."

They moved through the camp, Merle's hand gripping Sophia's tightly. She was starting to shake. It might have been the adrenaline; she was trying to stifle it, but she felt dizzy and shaky on her feet. She was glad he was holding her hand because she knew he wouldn't let her stumble and fall.

Anger surged through Merle. This was his girl and he'd be damned if he'd let those bastards get away with hurting her… with touching her… with scaring her. She'd said she wasn't hurt but her face was battered enough as far as he was concerned, and she was trembling; the fear was obvious in her eyes. He wanted those assholes to die and he didn't want it to be quick.

Night was falling fast and they reached the center of the camp in time to see the truck speed off. Merle found Jerry standing at the edge.

Jerry spoke before Merle had a chance. "Oh good, you found her… Sean, Nate and Randall just went off to look for Dave and Tony."

Merle felt his blood boil at the mention of Randall's name. In the back of his mind, Merle knew that he should care about the fact that the three men were headed to town and chances were good they'd find Rick, Glenn, and that other guy… chances were good there was going to be some kind of cockfight or standoff in town but Merle was too angry to think clearly, to care about anyone but Sophia at this point. Rick was a big boy; he'd have to handle that himself, because Merle had to handle this first. "Ya seen Dodge?," Merle snarled.

Jerry looked puzzled for a second and then glanced around, "uhh… not sure… tent maybe?"

Merle grunted and spun on his heel, taking Sophia with him. When they were out of sight of the others, Merle turned to Sophia and crouched down to her level. "Ya don't hafta be afraid, 'kay? I ain't lettin' nothin' happen to ya. I'm gonna take care of this fuckbag, an' then we're leavin'."

Sophia gave him a tight-lipped smile, her eyes shining. "Merle…," she started, then stopped and swallowed hard, "you're a really good dad." Merle's face changed slightly and then he hugged her to him and with all that Sophia was – she wished Merle was her father.

"Stay 'ere," Merle said, releasing Sophia and motioning for her to stay as he moved off toward Dodge's tent.

* * *

**A/N – I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm not forgetting about Randall and about him getting his, but I'm trying to blend this with the events on the show, so Merle isn't going to get his chance at Randall now. We are getting closer to a reunion though – it's not going to happen on the farm so the reunion takes place after the events of the finale. Sorry this was such a short update but this seemed like a decent place to break off before what comes next. Hope you like! I appreciate your thoughts and reviews!**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Merle headed off toward the tent that Dodge had been using, Sophia's words ringing in his ears. He knew that he had no blood relation to the girl, but she felt so much like his family that it overwhelmed him. He didn't care that he wasn't really her father – she was his girl regardless. And Dodge was going to pay for what he'd done.

The tent was empty. Merle gritted his teeth, feeling the rage run through his veins, and headed off into the woods. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Absently, as he moved swiftly but silently through the woods, Merle plotted his next move. The camp was going to crumble if he didn't get Sophia out soon. It hadn't been safe here from day one, but at least before he could pretend he was one of them, just another asshole. But now… once they realized that Dave and Tony were dead – whether they found Rick and Company or not – Dave and Tony being dead and Merle coming back without them changed things.

He was quickly abandoning the plan to get Sophia after he was done with Dodge and head right to town. The chances that Rick would still be there were not good. And if Rick was still there, Merle would probably be dragging Sophia into a gun fight between Rick and his people and Randall, Sean, and Nate. That wasn't a possibility that thrilled Merle. He didn't want to risk the girl's life on the slight chance that they might find her momma that way.

He was going to find her momma… but he was going to play it safe. Merle was thinking that Rick and them had to be somewhere not too far from the town. Dave had said something about them having a farm, so Merle was thinking someplace secluded… hidden in the woods beyond a long dirt or gravel road. And Merle was planning to find it. He'd handle this asshole Dodge, get Sophia, and head out to find it.

But Randall… the thought of the other asshole nagged at Merle. Randall was going to get off… if Merle and Sophia left now, Merle would never get a crack at Randall again. He sighed. Randall wasn't worth it… well he was, but not in the scheme of things. Randall wasn't worth going after if it put Sophia in harm's way.

A noise up ahead caught Merle's attention and he picked up the pace. He stopped behind the trunk of a tree and peered out into the clearing ahead. Dodge was in the clearing, his back to Merle, crouched by the creek that trickled through this area and he seemed to be cleaning his face off. Next to Dodge was a bag, as if he'd packed in a hurry and was leaving.

"Ya give new meanin' to the words 'Get the hell outta dodge', boy," Merle said gruffly, stepping out between the trees into the clearing.

Dodge turned his head to look back at Merle, terror written across his features. "Fuck, Merle… I… I…"

Merle held up his hand and shook his head. "Save yer piss poor fuckin' 'xcuses cause I don't give a shit what ya gotta say."

Dodge stood up, faced Merle, and Merle felt pride slice through him when he saw the younger man's face. Merle could tell the bruises he'd made that morning, and he could see the cockeyed twist of Dodge's nose, but new blood leaked out of a newer gash on the side of Dodge's face now as well. That must have been Sophia's contribution to Dodge's already damaged face. Merle couldn't help the half-smirk that crept across his lips.

Merle took a step toward Dodge and the younger man pulled a gun, pointed it at Merle. "Don't move, douchebag! You ain't doing shit to me," Dodge said.

Merle chuckled, a sinister laugh, and shook his head. "Now are ya sure that's how ya want it?" Merle went to put his hand down at his side.

"Keep your hands where I can see them!," Dodge said frantically. His voice sounded panicked and higher pitched than it should have.

"Fuck, asshole, can't ya see I only got the one hand? What 'xactly is I gonna do to ya wit' one fuckin hand?," Merle said motioning with his hands as he spoke. A look crossed Merle's face and he held up his hand, pointed his finger out at Dodge and smiled sarcastically, "ya shouldn't fuckin pick on cripples, ya know…," Merle said wagging his finger at Dodge. "Keep your hands where I can see 'em," Merle mimicked and then twisted his face into a sardonic smile, "like ya don't fuckin know I's only got the one fuckin hand."

Dodge had turned pale and he backed up a step, one foot splashing down into the creek. The hand holding the gun was shaking but he kept it trained on Merle.

Merle met Dodge's eyes and saw the way the other man's eyes shifted uncomfortably. Dodge wouldn't keep the eye contact, he kept glancing around. Merle smiled then, a full smile with teeth and everything, a sinister smile, and then narrowed his eyes and then he was moving, rushing full speed at Dodge, knocking into Dodge's body full force as the gun went off in Dodge's hands, the bullet coming out wide, missing Merle and lodging into a tree.

Dodge hit the ground in surprise, the gun knocked loose into the water, and Merle straddled the top of him, slamming his fist into Dodge's face repeatedly, using his weight on his stump to pin Dodge down.

Dodge rebounded, threw a punch at Merle, and then tried to dig his thumbs into Merle's eyes. Merle growled and slammed Dodge's head down into the creek, submerging his head in the foot of water for a few minutes before letting him up to breathe. Dodge squirmed, reached out and squeezed his fingers around Merle's still somewhat raw stump. Merle hollered, reared back and it gave Dodge enough time to flip over, reaching for the gun in the water.

The two men grappled for minutes, rolling in the cold creek water as they tried to get the best of the other. Dodge whipped around onto his back with the gun, his body half sitting and half lying, his finger tightening on the trigger at the same time that Merle hovered over Dodge and stabbed his knife into Dodge's neck.

Dodge's eyes grew wide in shock as the knife plunged into his flesh, the gun clicked, but nothing happened. He pulled the trigger again… click… click… nothing… empty… or too wet to fire. Dodge gurgled, blood spluttering out of his mouth, and then he sank down until his body lay flat, his head lying in the water.

Merle sighed, looking at the dead man in the water. He stood up, went a few steps upstream to clean himself up. He splashed water on his face, used his hand to clean the dirt and grime off one arm, and then used his forearm to clean the dirt and grime off the other arm.

He was still crouched there when he felt the shadow of something loom over him and Merle spun to see Dodge on his feet reaching out to Merle clumsily, Dodge's mouth gaping open, groaning and gurgling, his eyes glossy and lifeless like marbles.

"Fuck," Merle yelped springing up to his feet and back into the water so that his shoes got soaked.

Dodge's hands reached out to Merle, his teeth clacking together as he tried to get a grip on Merle's shirt. Merle reached back with his hand to get the gun from the back of his pants and promptly blew a hole through Dodge's forehead.

Merle stood there watching Dodge's geek body crumple to the ground and let the shock of what he'd just learned fully hit him. _Ya don't need to be bit to fuckin turn…_

He was still processing that bit of information when he heard a high pitched shriek followed by the sound of Sophia's voice, "Merle! Help!"

* * *

**A/N – I know, I know, another cliffhanger. :) There's going to be a bumpy chapter or two but then we'll be getting to the reunion. We are almost there and this story is almost over. In terms of the story timeline, we are about a week away from the reunion because Randall was on the farm for a week or so before Shane killed him and the herd and all that. Anyway, hope you like and I hope you'll review! I love hearing from you all! **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N – I'm sorry this took so long! I know, I know, I'm awful. Anyway, here's the next chapter and I'm working on the next one to get it up tonight or tomorrow. Hope you like! Thank you so much for the reviews! Like I said last chapter, it's going to be a bumpy ride for a chapter or two but then I expect to be getting to that long-awaited reunion. **

* * *

Chapter 15

She'd stood at the edge of the campsite watching Merle head off into the woods. Sophia hated being left behind. She hated the idea that something could happen to him. She had meant what she said to him before he left to find Dodge. Merle was everything she could have wanted in a father and if she could have chosen from the get go, she would have chosen him.

Footsteps behind her caused her to turn and she saw Jerry approaching. He smiled at her, a resigned kind of look on his face.

"What are you doing over here?," he asked, "You and Merle ran off so quickly…" He trailed off, looking around before refocusing his attention on her.

"Umm… I'm just waiting for my dad," she said.

"Oh. He's not here? There was something I wanted to say to him… oh well." Something was off about Jerry's tone, his mannerisms. He came to a stop standing next to her, put an arm on her shoulder and she resisted the urge to cringe, to move away. Something told her that she needed to tread carefully.

She shifted her weight uncomfortably.

Jerry looked down at her and she looked up at him. He smiled kind of sadly and then said, "Do you know how long your dad and I go back, Molly?"

She bit her bottom lip, concealing it almost completely in her mouth and shook her head.

"Oh a long time… we had a lot of fun together, made quite a bit of money. We were kinda like Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor; except we were the poor… and sometimes we took stuff that wasn't money. But you get the point. Did Merle ever tell you about the time he almost got caught?"

Sophia shook her head again. She wasn't really sure where he was going with this, but she was feeling very uneasy. Her stomach had butterflies.

"No? Can't imagine why not. It's such a fun story. Fun for him at least." Jerry's face contorted then and he crouched down in a quick movement, getting in Sophia's face, grabbing the front of her shirt with one hand, the other gripping her shoulder, leaving a mark on her skin beneath her shirtsleeve. "Your fucking daddy up and fucking left me, just fucking drove off without me, leaving me behind for the fucking cops… ten years I did, ten long fucking years in that hellhole. All because of **your** daddy."

Sophia tried to pull herself away from his grip, she put a hand out on his chest, pushing.

Jerry shook his head at her and sneered, "I lost everything because of him… I had a son, his ma, she took him away after I got locked up, ain't seen him since. I lost everything… because of Merle motherfucking Dixon, and now he's gonna lose everything too."

Sophia shook her head, her hand still ineffectually pushing against Jerry's chest as she squirmed, "please… Mr. Jerry… please don't…"

"Don't!," he growled, "Don't what?" He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders then, shook her violently, and then back-handed her with one of his hands. The bruises that were already forming from the earlier encounter with Randall and Dodge, screamed at her as the back of Jerry's hand smashed against her face.

She squeaked as he hit her again, and she felt the rip of her skin on the side of her face and could feel the warm wetness start to drip down her cheek. It smelled metallic… blood. Her stomach was twisted in knots. She thought of her mom; she thought of her mom standing in the kitchen staring down Ed – not her father anymore, she couldn't make herself think of Ed as her dad – before Ed smashed his fist into her mom's face. Jerry hit her again, and she cried out inwardly.

He shook her, he was swearing, angry, and violent, and all she could think about was her mom and Ed. He hit her again, and she crumpled to the ground automatically as if to protect herself, but he kicked her, and she screamed this time as he connected. She shrieked, and then she yelled out, "Merle! Help!" as Jerry pulled her up off the ground, spinning her, pulling her harshly against him so that he could hold her there, her back to his body; the barrel of his gun suddenly pressed against the side of her head, the metal cold against her skin.

* * *

Merle's heart was in his throat as he tore through the woods toward where he'd left Sophia, toward where he'd heard her call out for help.

"'Phia!," he called out. He burst out into the campsite to find Jerry holding Sophia, a gun pressed to the side of her head.

Sophia's eyes were wide, and Merle saw that she must be injured, blood dripped down the side of her face. She whimpered at the sight of him, and Jerry took a step back, dragging her with him, shaking her brusquely, the gun digging deeper into her temple.

Merle stopped, put his hand out to Sophia and met her eyes. "Yer gonn' be fine, kid… jus' hold on."

Sophia nodded slightly, keeping her shiny eyes on him as he brought his attention up to Jerry.

"Whatcha doin', Jer… the fucks this 'bout?," Merle said.

"What the fuck is this about? Really, Merle? You want to know what the **fuck** this is about?," Jerry said, his tone angry but on the verge of laughing maniacally.

Merle took a step forward.

"Back the fuck up, Merle… no fucking way am I letting you get any closer," Jerry snapped, pulling the gun away from Sophia for a second and brandishing it wildly at Merle before jamming it against Sophia's head again.

Merle watched as Sophia squeezed her eyes shut and open them again as a tear rolled down her cheek. His stomach tightened and his heart clenched.

"Fuck it," Jerry suddenly hollered, aiming the gun at Merle and pulling the trigger. Merle's body jerked back at the impact of the bullet into his shoulder and he braced himself for the pain. But all he could feel at the moment was concern for Sophia who had screamed his name when Jerry pulled the trigger.

Merle rushed toward Jerry, intent on getting to Sophia… he felt the impact of another bullet lodge into the bicep of the worthless arm that ended in a stump, felt the sting of a bullet graze the side of his abdomen but by that point, he didn't care, all that mattered was Sophia. He knocked into Jerry as Sophia squirmed to the side and out of Jerry's grip.

Merle and Jerry grappled together on the ground and Merle felt himself growing weak as they rolled together, their limbs flailing, crashing together. He hissed and cringed as Jerry dug the tips of his fingers into the bullet wound in Merle's shoulder.

The world was growing fuzzy around him and he knew he was losing consciousness… the last thing he saw as Jerry rolled on top of him and slid two fingers into Merle's bicep wound was Sophia… Sophia holding a rock, appearing in his line of sight behind Jerry, and slamming the rock down onto Jerry's head. And then everything went dark.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N – Hello everyone! I won't have another update until probably Monday because I am going away this weekend. Hope everyone has a great weekend and Memorial Day (if you do that kind of thing)! Hope you like this chapter and thank you for reviewing and reading! You're all awesome! **

* * *

Chapter 16

The rock smashed into Jerry's head and he slumped down, still straddling Merle's unconscious body, but now Jerry's ungainly form was slumped forward and kind of hanging off to the side. Sophia dropped the rock and backed up a step, bent forward and put her hands on her knees, hanging her head down as she panted and tried to catch her breath.

Then she stood up, wiped the back of her hand across her forehead and the side of her face that was dripping still with blood. Then she wiped the blood on the back of her hand off on her pants.

_Well hell_. The thought was so not Sophia… it was like Merle was inside her brain and thinking for her. Of course, if it really had been Merle, he'd have thought "fuck". She figured her mom would have to be proud of the fact that at least she didn't think "fuck".

She heard noises from the center of the campsite and glanced around. No one had come into the clearing with the tents for quite a while, but she knew it wasn't safe to stay here. She moved over to check Jerry… still out. And then she moved around to the side, and kind of pushed Jerry, in the hopes that she could get the man to fall off of Merle. Of course, it didn't work. Jerry was larger than Merle, much larger, and clearly not within the realm of weighty objects that she could push and maneuver on her own.

She almost started laughing, but it really wasn't funny. This was ridiculous. She stood there surveying the way Jerry's body was lilting over; half on top of Merle and half off, and all she could think of was math class. This was like a real-life math word problem. If Jerry equals 300 pounds, and Sophia equals 100 pounds, how much force is needed for Sophia to move Jerry.

A groan escaped Merle's lips and Sophia moved over, leaned over him.

* * *

He was dreaming… he was dreaming about Daryl, dreaming about Daryl and him when they were just stupid kids. He dreamed they were together and crouching down in the woods on one of Daryl's first hunting experiences. Merle was older; Merle was in charge.

"_How ya gonna catch it?," Daryl had said as Merle looped the snare. _

_Merle huffed, annoyed with his kid brother already and they hadn't even been out hunting for an hour. _

"_With this, dumbass. Ya set the snares and they's run right into 'em."_

_They'd caught two rabbits and one skunk. The rabbits had made good stew, and the skunk left them taking tomato baths for a week. Merle could remember that hunt like it was yesterday. It was maybe a month or so after their ma had died, and their pa had been off on a bender for about two weeks by that point and they'd been on their own, fending for themselves. _

"_I'm staaaarving, Merle," Daryl had whined earlier in the day. Hard to believe now that Daryl used to be a whiner. He was just a kid then though, and kids whine until they know better. It didn't take long for Daryl to learn better once pa had come back. _

_Merle took a drag off the cigarette in his mouth and then put it out on the bottom of his shoe, tossed it aside, right on the floor in the living room, ash on the floor and all – just cause he could. "Yer such a lil' bitch, quit yer whinin'. If yer fuckin hungry, then go get some damn food. It ain't rocket surgery." _

_Daryl had gotten up and gone over to the coffee can in the kitchen. "We're outta cash."_

_Merle sighed. "Fine. I'll teach ya a thing or two bout huntin." _

It was so vivid in his mind. He was crouching there, tying that snare, and then little kid Daryl reached out, put a hand on Merle's shoulder and shook him.

"Wake up, Merle… I need you to wake up… wake up… wake up," Sophia said, shaking Merle by his uninjured shoulder as he moaned.

"Wake up… wake up… wake up…," little kid Daryl said to Merle in his dream, and then he was gasping awake, his eyes shooting open and all he could see was Sophia bent down over him, her face right up to his.

"Fuck… sonovabitch… fuck," Merle gasped pushing his upper half off the ground as Sophia reared back and fell on her bottom. Merle's lower half was pinned down under Jerry who still appeared to be out cold. He propped up on one elbow behind him and exhaled loud and slow. Pain gripped him all over.

He'd been shot in the shoulder of his good arm – the one with the hand – and through the bicep of the other arm. There was a burning sensation in the side of his abdomen where he guessed a bullet had nicked and whizzed right by. He looked at his bicep to see the hole where the bullet had gone straight through and out the other side. His shoulder didn't have an exit wound, but he could move it – carefully and while hissing at the sensation.

He glanced at Sophia who smiled like the cat that ate the canary. He grunted at her and shook his head. "Well, what ya waitin' for? A fuckin' invitation? Help me git this fucker off me," he muttered, putting his hand to Jerry's side.

Sophia nodded quickly and got up. She put both hands on Jerry and in conjunction with Merle pushing and her pushing, they heaved the weighty man off of Merle. They both grunted with the effort as they pushed, Sophia leaning forward on the balls of her feet and trying to use all her weight to push. Finally, Jerry half-slid, half-fell to his side on the ground, leaving just his legs on Merle and Merle easily enough moved those off as he got up.

Merle looked at Sophia and before he could say anything, she threw her arms around him and hugged him. "I thought you were gonna die," she said, looking up at him when she let him go.

Merle smirked. "Nobody can kill me, 'xcept me. Dontcha worry, kid."

Sophia grinned and hugged him again, this time harder. Merle grimaced but didn't make a peep about it as her head touched the side where the bullet had grazed his torso.

"Yea, yea, I'm glad to see ya too, 'Phia… but let's get the hell outta 'ere now, heh?," Merle said softly, putting his hand – with considerable effort as his shoulder protested – to the back of her head and lightly patting her hair.

"Okay," Sophia said letting go and stepping back. She looked over at Jerry, "what are you going to do with him?"

Merle looked at the cut on the side of Sophia's face, on the bruises that covered her cheeks… some from Randall and Dodge and others from Jerry. "Hmm… we'll jus' leave 'im, I guess… let's jus' get our stuff outta the tent and hit the road before anyone's the wiser."

Sophia nodded. "Okay, good."

Merle gave her a close-mouthed smile and they moved off toward the tent. When they reached their tent a little ways away, Sophia stepped inside to get her stuff. "Take yer time, 'Phia.," Merle said from outside. "Left my bag from town… jus' gonna go grab it. Stay 'ere and git yer stuff."

"Alright," Sophia said, her voice muffled on the inside of the tent, and sounding so innocent.

Merle moved off, walking slowly and deliberately back to where they'd left Jerry. He'd left his bag… but that hadn't been an accident. Sophia was innocent still, and Merle'd be damned if he'd have to be the one to change that. But he'd be just as damned if he let Jerry off for what he'd done. _No fuckin' way. _

The clearing where Jerry lay was still empty, and Jerry was just starting to groan and stretch when Merle walked up. Merle picked up the gun off the ground, the one that Jerry had been holding to Sophia's head. He held it in his hand, tested its weight, and stood over Jerry as the man below came to. Jerry's eyes opened and he blinked the confusion away, staring up at Merle. A look of recognition came over his face as their eyes connected, and Merle smirked. He pointed the gun and shot Jerry point blank in the face.

He left the gun where it fell afterward, grabbed his bag and tried to swing it so that it could hang over his uninjured shoulder, and then with a somewhat hobbled gait headed back to get Sophia and their stuff. Despite the pain he felt and the heat of a fever that was building up inside of him, he couldn't help but whistle as he walked.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N – Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting. I haven't had any time to write. Not much action in this one, but I wanted a small moments chapter. Two more chapters left on this one! Thank you so much for the reviews! I love hearing from you all and I hope you'll read and review again! **

* * *

Chapter 17

Sophia wasn't stupid. She packed her few items in the bag, biding her time until Merle got back. She knew exactly why Merle told her to take her time, why he had to go back for his bag. A part of her appreciated that he hadn't broadcasted it though.

It wasn't like she was a stranger to violence at this point. She'd seen plenty from Ed… mostly directed at her mom, but occasionally attempted at her. Plus, they were surviving in a world where dead people tried to eat the living. It wasn't like she didn't think Jerry had it coming. But she hadn't really wanted to see it happen either. She strained to hear from inside the tent. There was a muffled sound… maybe the gunshot… she really had no way of knowing.

She was just exiting the tent when she saw Merle coming out from between the neighboring tents to where she was. He was whistling a tune as he approached, his gait staggered, his bag slung over his shoulder. He nodded at her.

"All set?"

Sophia nodded, gave him a half-smile. She glanced around. It was dark out now. It was dark and they were going to be on the move again. In the woods… in the dark.

"Are we taking the tent?," she asked.

Merle shook his head. "Don't wanna slow ourselves down." He moved past her, his gait slow and deliberate. He was in pain. She couldn't see it on his face, but it was in his movements. She picked up her own bag and put it over her shoulder. Then before he could grab his second bag, the one he hadn't left behind, Sophia grabbed it.

"Gimme tha' now," Merle said, casting a glance at her.

"I've got it, Merle. Let's just go. Before it gets any darker." Sophia shrugged as she slung the second bag over her other shoulder. It was heavy, but she was determined. She forced herself to bear the weight, stood up a little straighter, a little taller.

Merle narrowed his eyes and his lips quirked slightly into a frown, but he didn't say anything. Their eyes connected and they stared off for a moment. She could tell he was debating. Finally, she reached forward and grabbed his hand, gently entwining her fingers with his as she moved around him and he followed.

That should have been her biggest clue. Something was wrong. Merle Dixon doesn't back down. Not the Merle she knew, that's for sure. But he followed as she moved between the trees and into the woods. And he didn't remove his hand from hers as they kept walking. His hand was clammy and warm in hers.

_How long does it take to get an infection from a bullet wound? Or several bullet wounds for that matter._ Those were the thoughts that nagged at her mind. She glanced up at Merle as they walked. His breathing was becoming deliberate now. She could hear it. He exhaled loud and long, breathing deeply. And his face was especially pale in the moonlight that shone through the trees.

* * *

Merle was nauseated. His stomach churned as they walked. And his vision wasn't right. If he didn't already know better, he'd think he had just shot up or snorted something and was high. He tried not to think about it. He tried to push his muddy things-aren't-right thoughts down into the back of his brain and concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

"Merle?," Sophia said, squeezing his hand and stopping so that he had to stop too.

He looked down at her, tried to focus on her face as the scenery around her seemed to move on its own. "Fuck," he breathed, "the fuck we stoppin' for?" His voice came out an exasperated groan and he didn't recognize it as his own at first. He cleared his throat, realized his mouth was dry. He licked his lips; they were chapped.

Sophia let go of his hand and bent down, dug through the bag for something. She stood up then, extending her hand that held something in it… a bottle. Merle reached for it, took a second for him to remember how to close his fingers around the bottle to hold it. Before he even realized, Sophia reached up and twisted the cap off with her hand. His eyes connected with hers and he absently thought to himself that she looked worried.

"Drink that, Merle… it's water," Sophia said, her voice sounding oddly distant from his ears.

He grunted, moved his arm to bring the water up to his mouth and noticed that for the first time, he didn't feel the pain in his shoulder where'd been shot anymore. He glanced over at his shoulder, and then over at the bicep of his other arm…

"Drink, Merle…," he heard Sophia say, and he looked back to her.

"Well, fuck, I was, fuck, damn...," he muttered, bringing the bottle up to his lips and tilting his head back. He felt the tiniest bit of liquid touch his tongue and then his eyes rolled back into his head and he crumpled to the ground.

* * *

Sophia held herself together. For the first time in her life, she felt in control and in charge. She felt like a grown up. It took a while, and she was panting by the time she was done, but she managed to drag Merle from where he had collapsed to a somewhat more secluded area behind some overgrown bushes. Then she had trekked to the closest water source, and filled every container she had.

She spent the rest of the night huddled up in the bushes with Merle, drenching a shirt in cold creek water and applying it to his head to cool him down. She barely slept, changing the compress on his head every hour, and was still awake at daybreak.

She looked up, squinting into the sun, and then leaned over and peered at him. His eyelids were twitching as he dreamed and his breathing was even. He was still too hot though. She drenched the shirt again and put it back to his forehead.

"He killed 'er, that worthless son-bitch… ya hear me? Fuckin bastard killed Ma and I'm-a fuckin kill him too… dontcha be thinkin' I won't," Merle murmured as she pressed the cold cloth to his head. His eyes were still shut and he jerked away slightly, flinched like he expected a blow. He muttered an expletive, and then another, and then angrily snapped, "Daryl-ina! Give it 'ere, boy."

His head turned rapidly and his face screwed up like he'd been struck. Sophia kept one hand on the wet cloth but moved her other hand to stroke Merle's hair. She remembered how much she liked it when her mom would stroke her hair when she was sick. She wanted to comfort Merle like her mom would comfort her when she had nightmares. She ran her small hand across Merle's head and over his hair and shushed him, "It's okay, Merle… everything's going to be okay."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N – I took some liberties with landscape here, but I'm hoping you can look past it. I don't know the layout of where everything was at Hershel's farm so I'm totally making it up. I tried to advance time as seamlessly as I could but I apologize if anything comes off as unrealistic with the timeline on the show. Hope you like! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Chapter 18

Merle opened his eyes in the darkness. The air was chilled and he saw his own breath as he exhaled. His head felt foggy and he raised it only slightly so see Sophia asleep, curled up at his side, her head on his chest.

A damp, but mostly dry at this point, cloth was on his forehead and it shifted as he raised his head slightly, slid off of him and onto the dirt. He didn't know how long he'd been out. The last memory he had that wasn't faded and strained was of shooting Jerry. He remembered that he and Sophia had been leaving, going into the woods, but he couldn't see the details of actually doing so.

He glanced around using his eyes, trying to minimize his movements. It hurt to move for one thing; his whole body ached, but he'd never minded an ache in the past… it was merely a minor distraction at this point in his life. No, he didn't want to move too much because he didn't want to wake Sophia. Her face was scrunched up and dirty but she had the slightest smile on her lips. Merle's heart felt swollen in his chest just watching her. He couldn't place the feeling he felt, but it was protective. This was his girl.

He shifted his gaze to his other side; saw the dirty bandages she'd been using on his wounds… a pile of them. Had he been out for that long? There were granola bar wrappers and other discarded trash piled there as well. At least Sophia had been eating.

He groaned in pain as his mind started to clear and he felt the angry throbbing in his shoulder, and in his side, and in his arm. Pain was good though. Pain meant he was alive. He exhaled raggedly, trying to will the pain to subside, and watched as Sophia's eyes fluttered open.

She smiled slightly at the sight of him awake. Finally. Then her face changed to a contrite look as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes and pulled her head off of his chest rapidly. "Sorry," she said, "it was warmer that way…"

It took him a moment to realize she was apologizing for sleeping on him. He shook his head, "nah, nah, it's a'right… put yer head back, we ain't goin' anywhere right now anyway."

In the morning, Sophia explained what Merle had missed. He'd been out for four days. In and out of consciousness, she said. There were times she'd thought he was lucid but he couldn't remember any of it.

Merle told her that he'd seen Rick in town.

"You did?," Sophia exclaimed excitedly. "Was my mom there?"

Merle shook his head. "Nah. Just 'im, the Chinese fellow…"

"Glenn… he's Korean," Sophia interjected.

Merle made a face. "Like I care, kid. But yeah, that one, and some other one I didn't know."

Sophia shrugged. "You think they're still there?"

It was Merle's turn to shrug. "Dunno. Prob'ly not _there_ there, in the town an' shit… but gotta be 'round there somewhere."

Sophia grinned. "I hope we find them."

Merle scowled at her. "I told ya we was gonna, didn't I? I ain't no liar… we'll find 'em."

"Promise is a promise?," Sophia said, taking a bite out of her granola bar.

Merle nodded. "Fuckin aye, kid."

Sophia giggled in response and pushed the bag of remaining food toward him so that he could find something to eat.

* * *

They had enough food to scrimp by for another two days while Merle recuperated. By then they were both tired of waiting in the woods and needed to get moving. Sophia was bubbling with excitement as they got on the move again and trekked through the woods. They were going to take the same route Merle knew to get to the town, but going through the woods to avoid trouble.

They were both aware of where they were in relation to the camp they'd just left and it was too close for comfort.

The town was different than Merle remembered. It was in shambles. There was the occasional walker which they either disposed of – Merle more than Sophia who mainly watched – or avoided. They found the remains of one of the guys from the camp… one of the ones who Merle had seen go off with Randall to look for Dave and Tony. They even found Dave and Tony still dead – and gross, as Sophia put it – inside the bar. But they didn't find the other guy or Randall anywhere.

"Ewww," Sophia said stepping over to an iron fence post that divided two buildings. "There's something on here but it's all chunky… dried up and gross."

Merle glanced over to where she was standing, to the fence she was indicating. He grunted, moved over to get a closer look. "Chunks-a-flesh, if ya ask me. Musta been somethin'… er… someone… stuck in it an' then pulled free… left the meat of 'em behind."

"Meat?," Sophia said, making a face. "That's disgusting."

Merle chuckled. "Hate to be the bastard got hi'self all caught up in the fence like that. Like a fuckin meat popsicle or somethin'."

Sophia scrunched her nose in a look of disgust and then rolled her eyes. "That's not funny, Merle… we're people, not popsicles."

Merle shook his head, gingerly put his arm around Sophia and playfully pulled her toward him so that she stood by his side leaning into him. "Like hell that ain't funny, girl." He took a step toward the closest store and she went with him. "Come on, let's load up an' move out."

* * *

They went back to the highway. Back to where they'd found the message for Sophia. It was night by the time they got there and they bundled up in an empty car to sleep. In the morning, they ate and went into the woods again.

They walked all day, finding trails and following them but they all fizzled out. There was a church they found, some dead walkers inside – proof that someone had been there. They came across some empty farmhouses, grabbed some supplies. At the last house they found, it was night again and they decided that it was as good a place as any to bed down.

Merle woke to the sound of gunshots. They were muffled but they were repeated. He'd been sleeping on the floor, in between the door and the bed. The door to the room was shut, and locked with a chain… one of those old farmhouses where the bedrooms chain lock for privacy. It wasn't enough security as far as Merle was concerned though, so he'd taken the floor just in case. No one was going to get to Sophia if he was alive to stop them.

Sophia stirred on the bed above him. "What's going on?," she said, her voice sleepy.

Merle shook his head. He stood up and looked at her. "Stay 'ere, and stay silent." She nodded. As he undid the chain and opened the door, he glanced back again, his expression somber. "Lock the door, 'Phia."

The bed creaked as she got up and padded over, her sneakers still on. He shut the door behind him, but waited to move away until he heard the chain slide in its chamber again.

He stepped outside of the door. Fleetingly, his eyes caught on a bush not far from the doorway. A large bush with white flowers… he felt like he knew what they were called but couldn't quite place the name.

He moved swiftly out in the open, over toward the sound of the gunfire. The sound of someone firing the weapon echoed, but he could discern the direction it originated from. He crept forward, moving into the woods briefly before the woods abruptly ended at the edge of a large field.

Maybe three-quarters of a mile from where he stood, there was a large farm. He could see the fence laying out the boundary of the property not far from where he was. The dark sky was lit with the flames of a burning building… a barn, he guessed. The place was swarming with walkers. Everywhere he glanced, he could see them all over the farm property. It was like they'd found an opening in the fence, or just tore it down, and had nowhere to go but inside. Hundreds of them.

It was hard to tell in the moonlight, but it looked like someone was standing next to the house, shooting off rapidly into the swarm. He saw a blue truck speed away from the site… there might have been another car, but it was hard to tell. It was chaos.

Somewhere behind the farmhouse on the property, there was movement, like someone running… he couldn't make out any details because that part of it was too far away. He heard the echo of a motorcycle though, and watched as the bike skidded by the movement and whatever it was, whoever it was, hopped on. As the bike rumbled away from the horde of walkers, Merle thought… _Fuck me sideways… that's __**my**__ bike._

He turned on his heel and hurried back toward the house to get Sophia.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Sophia sat on the bed and waited. She hated waiting. She heard movement in the other part of the house and stood up, holding her breath and hoping it was Merle.

Moments later she heard a rap on the door and Merle's voice – "'Phia, come on... time to go."

She grabbed a bag and undid the chain hastily, opening the door and asking concernedly, "what's going on?" Merle shook his head and grabbed the other two bags before motioning for her to follow as he moved again through the house.

Sophia sighed loudly and he glanced back, giving her a look. "Fine… tell me later," she sighed and followed as they moved swiftly out of the house.

Two walkers were on the lawn as they left and Merle cussed under his breath but loud enough for her to hear. He grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her along to the side of the house before the walkers noticed them. He put a finger to his lips and she nodded, pulling her knife free from the bag. It was his turn to nod.

They had no choice but to go through the woods, to go back the way they had originally come, follow the same path to the highway. They kept getting diverted by walkers, changing directions to double back and then moving forward again. Daylight had dawned hours before they finally arrived back at the highway.

"Fuck!," Merle cursed loudly when they saw the place was still deserted. On the move, he had brought Sophia up to speed and told her that he was sure the group would have gone to the highway after abandoning the farm.

Sophia frowned and sighed softly to herself. She was getting used to this. Chasing around, searching for her mom, and she was beginning to think they'd never find them. "It's okay," she said softly, more for Merle's sake than for her own. She knew it would be okay… she had Merle. She wanted her mom, she needed her mom, but she knew that she was still okay as long as she had Merle. But she knew Merle needed to do this… he needed to reunite her with her mom, with the group. She wasn't sure why exactly, but she knew he needed it. She'd known by the way he'd rushed headlong through the woods, hell-bent on getting to the highway and so certain they'd find the group there.

Something glinted in the sunlight and she stepped over to it, looking down at the puddle of liquid. She looked at it, saw how the liquid has pooled and then continued in a thin line of droplets across the grass median and then onto the other side of the road… a trail of something – gas or antifreeze or oil – that had dripped from the bottom of someone's car.

"Merle?," she said, looking up and he glanced at her, his face frustrated. "What's this?," she pointed.

He stepped over to where she was, looking down and then at her, a smile crossing his lips. They found an empty car from the wreckage on the highway, no keys inside, but Sophia watched in wonder as Merle hotwired it.

* * *

They followed the trail until they found some cars on the side of the road. Merle recognized two of them as the ones that he'd seen speed off from the farm. He glanced around, absently wondering where his bike might be hidden.

It was rapidly getting dark as they abandoned the car and went into the woods. Merle was willing to bet the group was around somewhere… they wouldn't have left the vehicles for new ones before dark. They'd have needed to bed down and stay put for the night. _They'll be campin' out 'ere somewhere._

Merle and Sophia moved stealthily, side-by-side in the woods. A noise caught their attention and they moved in that direction.

"I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people. You want to go? GO…," Rick's voice echoed loudly in the quiet night.

Merle and Sophia could hear everything as they moved silently through the dark woods. Sophia slipped her hand into Merle's and he glanced down at her.

"We could surprise them," Sophia suggested softly as they neared the clearing where the group was camped for the night. Merle looked at her questioningly.

"That ain't never a good idea, girl," he muttered.

"It could be though! You go first and then I'll come out after. Like a surprise!"

"They're jus' as likely to shoot me as anythin', ya know," Merle muttered quietly, shaking his head.

Sophia shook her head vigorously and said smartly, "As if I'd let them do that…" She gave him a withering look.

Merle's upper body shook as he laughed inwardly. "Who turned ya into such a fuckin bad ass?"

Sophia dropped his hand and put her arms around his waist, hugging him, "you, obviously." Merle put his hand to her back before she let her arms fall and stepped back.

"This is it, kid… yer gonna get yer momma back now," he said, kneeling down so their faces were closer together.

"I'm still going to have you too though, right?," Sophia said, frowning.

Merle twisted the corner of his mouth and gave a quick nod. "Ain't goin' nowhere." He stood up and put his hand on her shoulder. "Stay 'ere and I'll go introduce ya… ya can do the whole big surprise entrance or what-fuckin-ever." Sophia grinned.

Rick was still yelling in the background but it felt to Merle like the cop's little diatribe was winding down. "Get one thing straight. You're staying? This isn't a democracy anymore…," Rick said crudely.

"Well I hate to interrupt this lil' moment ya'll is havin', but yer makin' so much noise I figures' I'm-a prob'ly savin' yer worthless hides shuttin' yer ass up right bout now," Merle said, stepping out of the woods.

One of the women gasped, he wasn't sure who.

Rick's mouth dropped for a second before he recovered, going for his gun.

Merle took a step back, narrowing his eyes and brandishing his own gun at Rick, and growled, "easy there, killer…" He raised his eyebrows almost beckoningly as he spoke.

"Merle…," Daryl said warningly, his voice low and wary.

Merle smirked, glancing between Rick, who was pointing his gun at Merle in a standoff stance; and Daryl, who had risen from where he'd been sitting, Daryl's fingers hovering hesitatingly above where his crossbow leaned against a tree.

"Hell-of-a fine welcome, lil' brother…," Merle sneered. "'_Merle_'," he sarcastically mimicked Daryl's earlier tone, "that's all I git? Ya gonn' pick up that bow now? Shoot yer own blood in the head?"

"What's your business here, Merle?," Rick spoke out and Merle snorted.

"You the boss now, big man? Bet lil' brother don't give ya no trouble bout it neither… well, I ain't impressed."

"I don't give a shit if you're impressed," Rick snapped angrily, taking a step forward and waving the gun.

Daryl moved forward, his hand reaching out and grabbing Rick's arm. "I got this, Rick," he growled, his voice low, clearly clasping his fingers around Rick's arm tightly before letting go to take a step ahead, putting himself between Rick and Merle. Daryl opened his mouth to speak but Merle interrupted.

"Ain't this a purdy sight… relax lil' brother, I ain't fixin to shoot the pig," Merle laughed. "Though don't be thinkin' he don't deserve it. No, that fucker…," Merle gestured with the hand that held the gun, indicating Rick, "that fucker left me for dead… and I ain't even the only one. Fucker thinks he's some kinda big shot, all in charge-a shit, he's a fuckin fraud. That fucker ain't no better a leader than any one of ya… jus' cause he gots a badge, don't mean shit, don't make his ass better than nobody."

Merle shook his head, "no sir-fuckin-ree… from what I hear all yer dumb ass is good for is leavin' people behind… on rooftops, in the fuckin good-for-nothin woods…" He paused, let his words sink in. And then he grinned, nodded. "Ya know, how bout I show ya'll a magic trick… ya know the one where they's pull a rabbit outta the hat? Well, I's gonna pull a lil' girl outta the woods…" Merle turned to the side and glanced behind him, moving his hand and stump back and forth like a magician might over a magic box. "Abra-fuckin-cadabra," he said snidely, chuckling at the same time.

And Sophia stepped out from the woods and into the clearing.

"Sophia," Carol gasped, moving forward without even thinking, grabbing her daughter before anyone else could even get a clear look and pulling the little girl close, wrapping her arms around Sophia.

* * *

**A/N – I lied before… one more chapter to make it an even 20… this just seemed like the perfect place to stop for this one. :) The 20****th**** chapter will be the final one for this fic though. I'm planning to do a spin-off story that will pick up where I leave off with this one but the spin-off will be Daryl and Carol centered (with Merle and Sophia's involvement in their tumultuous little fledgling relationship) so I wanted to make it its own entity for those of you who aren't a fan of that pairing. For those of you who read Caryl pairing stuff, I'll probably start that story after the 20****th**** chapter is finished and posted on this one.**

**Hope you like this one and please read and review! Thank you for reading and for all the nice things you say! You make me just want to write and write and write and do nothing else. **


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

It didn't escape Merle's notice the way Daryl's gaze lingered intensely on Sophia and her mother. He pushed the thought aside though and smirked at Rick who was positively glowering at Merle. Merle snorted inwardly at Rick's face and waggled his eyebrows tauntingly. _How ya like them apples, pig? _

Carol stepped back from Sophia and the others rushed around to greet the little girl. It was Carol though who looked up at Merle and caught his gaze.

"Merle…," she started, all choked up with her own emotions, "I don't know… how to… thank you for this."

Before Merle could even respond she had wrapped her arms around him and was hugging him. He stood there, stone still, unsure what to do. It was one thing to have Sophia hug him. His eyes caught with Sophia's eyes. The little girl nodded encouragement and smiled softly and he resisted the urge to push Carol off him and make a snide comment at the woman.

"Where'd ya find 'er?," Daryl asked as Carol stepped away from Merle, his gaze flickering between watching her go and Merle watching him.

Sophia spoke before Merle had a chance. "On the highway… but not the first highway… not where the walkers were… some other highway. I was running and I got lost and then Merle found me and we were looking for you guys. But you weren't there when we got there, and then these guys came and made us go with them and then we had to stay there because it wasn't safe to leave and then I started my period." Her words were running together excitedly as she told her tale but she stopped on the last word, blushing bright red and looking at her mother.

"Oh Sophia," Carol said softly.

"Ewww," Carl muttered in the momentary silence and Merle echoed the sentiment internally, chuckling a bit in his own head.

Sophia shook her head, "and then Merle had to go into town and there were these guys and they wanted to hurt me… Dodge and Randall… but I got away…"

"Hol' up… ya say Randall?," Daryl interrupted.

"Ya 'member Jerry?," Merle said, speaking to Daryl. Daryl chewed his bottom lip and nodded.

"We got stuck with these boys that Jerry was runnin' with. No way to leave without drawin' 'em with us. Was safer to stay and play 'long. Girl didn't git hurt though, I didn't let 'em touch her."

"It's true," Sophia said. "Merle took real good care of me." She smiled and Merle nodded at her.

"Oh God, Sophia," Carol gasped out again, grabbing the girl to her bosom again and wrapping her arms around her daughter. "I just can't believe you're really here."

"I missed you too, mom," Sophia said, her voice muffled by the tight embrace.

"Why didn't you wait where I left you?," Rick said gruffly.

Sophia pulled away from her mom and blinked at him. "You… you told me to go back to the highway… to the others," she stammered, her voice a little hesitant and nervous.

Rick shook his head, "I told you to wait."

She shook her head, "no, no you told me to go…" Her eyes flickered over to Merle, her expression pained.

"It don't fuckin matter who said wha'," Merle said. "Girl's back now, ain't she? Ya ain't gonn' blame 'er for this at this point, is ya?" Merle looked pointedly at Rick, a challenge in his eyes.

Rick sighed. "I'm glad you're okay, Sophia," his words were soft. He smiled slightly at Carol and then turned his attention back to Merle. "You have my gratitude… but I don't think you belong here, with us. I think it would serve us all best if you just moved along."

Daryl cleared his throat but before he could speak, Sophia had moved quickly to Merle's side.

"Merle stays or I go with him," she said, her voice firm.

Merle looked at her, shook his head slightly. "'Phia…," he started, his voice low.

"No," she said looking up at him, determination written across her features. "You stay or I go."

Merle saw a look pass between Daryl and Carol and as Daryl opened his mouth to speak again, it was suddenly Carol who stepped to Merle and Sophia's side.

"Rick…," Carol started, silencing Daryl with a hand. "I know I've said some things to you, about you, that were uncalled for, and I apologize for that. Today… well, earlier today was a little more than I could handle, and I think I took some of that out on you. For that I'm sorry. But Merle saved my little girl…" Tears welled in Carol's eyes and she paused to swallow thickly before continuing, "he did that… he didn't have to, but he did. He took care of her and he brought her back to me… to us. He deserves to stay. I think, he's earned a place here. But if you don't agree… that's your decision of course, but if he goes, Sophia and I will go too."

Daryl grunted, stepping forward to stand on the other side of Merle, his gaze intent on Rick. He nodded at the man, "and me." His voice was low and gruff; he was never one for fancy speeches.

"Daryl…," Merle said and Daryl turned his head to glance at his brother and then rapidly looked away again.

"Well, ya is my kin…," Daryl muttered, his voice coarse and angry. The anger made Merle grimace. Their relationship had been strained for a while, but they were brothers, and Merle hoped that somehow he could make things right between them.

"Rick," Lori said, her voice threatening, "do something about this."

Rick looked at his wife and Carl standing at her side. Lori's gaze was imploring. "What are you supposing I do, Lori?" Rick's voice was firm and aggravated.

"Carol's my friend and Sophia… Sophia was…is… Carl's friend," Lori said, her lips drawn in a tight line on her face and her eyes beseeching. "Do something." There was an unspoken warning in her last words and Rick looked away, glancing down at the ground, as she spoke them.

He cleared his throat and looked back at Merle, his eyes looking somewhat defeated. "You can stay, Merle… long as you can stick by our rules and such."

Merle snorted. "Ya know, _Rick_," he said, emphasizing the cop's name, "I never was no good with rules and such… prob'ly better off on my own as it be."

"No, you're not," Sophia interrupted and Merle glanced down at her. "You said you're not going anywhere," she said tempestuously, clenching her jaw and stamping her foot on the ground.

Merle suppressed his smile – now wasn't the time to show these people the way this little tiny girl could bend her will over tough hard-ass Merle. "Well if you'd lemme finish, kid… I was jus' bout to say tha' I'd give it a go and stick 'round… seems like ya'll need me to give ya'll somethin' to fuss bout, keep ya'll outta trouble and shit. Ain't really nowhere else I need to be anyway."

Sophia's grin at him spoke volumes and he gave her the smallest, most imperceptible nod that he could. _Not leavin' my girl to these fuckin fools._

Rick made a sound of acknowledgement and turned away. He muttered over his shoulder, "I suggest we all get some sleep, we're heading off in the morning." The others dispersed accordingly.

Sophia took a few steps forward, grasping her mother's hand in hers, Carol falling into step beside the little girl, until Sophia suddenly halted in her tracks and glanced back at Merle. "Are you coming?"

The look of shock on Carol's face was evident but she quickly twisted it into a genial smile.

Merle glanced at Daryl whose gaze was still locked on Carol and Sophia, his younger brother's eyes hooded and his lips in a thin line on his face. "Yea, kid, I'm-a comin'," Merle muttered. "Git yerself all fixed up with yer momma, and I'll find a place nearby."

"But not too far," Sophia said. It wasn't a question.

"Not too far," Merle agreed as Daryl's eyes flickered to look at him now. Merle clapped a hand on Daryl's back, ignoring the slight flinch that his brother gave. "Let's git goin' now, lil' brother, ya heard the lil' lady."

* * *

**A/N – This concludes the Unexpected Allies fic. I really hope you enjoyed it. I loved writing it and I thank you all for your great reviews! You've no idea how much I appreciate all your kind words. As I said, I am going to continue this story from this point in a new fic (as yet untitled) that will focus on the Daryl and Carol romantic pairing with Merle and Sophia's influence on getting them together. **

**HOWEVER, since someone did mention that they'd like to see Merle and Sophia without the Daryl and Carol thing (since not everyone is a fan of that particular pairing), I think I will keep writing for these two and update this fic again. What I think I'll do, is I'll write one-shot chapters on the Merle and Sophia friendship/adventure and post them as updates to Unexpected Allies. That way those of you who don't like Daryl and Carol can still see what's going on between Merle and Sophia as the group moves along. Let me know what you think. **


End file.
